Ratan Khatri Age, Death, Biography » StarsUnfolded

Bio/Wiki
Nickname	Matka King
Profession(s)	• Indian Gambling Kingpin • Film Producer
Famous for	Being the inspiration behind the Amazon Prime Video series Matka King, starring Vijay Varma (released on April 17, 2026)
Physical Stats
Eye Colour	Black
Hair Colour	Salt and Pepper
Career
Debut	Film: Rangila Ratan (1976); as a producer
Personal Life
Date of Birth	Year, 1932
Birthplace	Karachi, Pakistan
Date of Death	9 May 2020
Place of Death	Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Age (at the time of death)	88 Years
Death Cause	Cardiac Arrest
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Mumbai, Maharashtra
Religion	Hinduism

Some Lesser Known Facts About Ratan Khatri

• Ratan Khatri was an Indian gambling kingpin, who was widely known as the “Matka King” for his key role in transforming matka, a form of betting, into one of the most profitable industries in India.

• He was born in Karachi, British India (now Pakistan) into a Sindhi Hindu family.

• After the India Pakistan Partition in 1947, his family relocated to Mumbai.

• When he was in his teenage, he started working in Mumbai’s textile markets and mill areas, where he was introduced to gambling on cotton exchange numbers.

• Initially, Khatri and his friends started betting on Worli Matka, a form of betting introduced by a Kutchi trader, Kalyanji Bhagat, on cotton prices transmitted from the New York Cotton Exchange.

• In 1962, Ratan Khatri’ introduced his own betting syndicate under the name “Ratan Matka” or “Main Bazaar” Matka, which later became a household name in Mumbai.

• In his betting game, he introduced 3 card draws using playing cards (from 1-10) from an earthen pot which added transparency and credibility to the betting process.

• Some of his other key innovations in his betting game were replacing complex cotton-market betting with a simplified numbered draw system and offering better odds and cleaner operations than many rivals.

• In the 1970s, Ratan Matka’s daily turnovers reached Rs 1 crore. His clients included people from all walks of life, including textile workers and small traders, wealthy businessmen, Bollywood actors, producers and music composers, and politically connected figures.

• Unlike many gambling operators of that time, Khatri had made an image of discipline and fairness. His public draws and structured operations gave gamblers a sense that his system was more trustworthy than his rivals. Additionally, many people in Mumbai’s gambling circles regarded him as India’s first truly organised bookmaker of that time.

• However, during India’s Emergency period (1975 to 1977) in India, Ratan faced challenges in his business. He was also imprisoned for 19 months by then prime minister Indira Gandhi.

• Although, he returned to gambling post his release, but his matka business began to decline in the 1990s due to increased police action due to mafia involvement and internal disputes within the gambling community.

• He then ventured into Bollywoofd film industry and started financing, distribution and producing films for some time.

• In 1993, Ratan Khatri retired from matka betting after an incident, where he was placed on a no-fly list (an Indian government initiative to identify disruptive passengers and temporarily prohibiting person from boarding flights. The objective of the list is “to ensure safety and check unruly and disruptive behaviour on aircraft”) during a family vacation.

• After his retirement many operators tried to take over his matka, however, no one could achieve the success he got in the same business.

• On 9 May 2020, due to a cardiac arrest, Ratan Khatri breathed his last at his residence in Tardeo, South Mumbai.

• In India, Ratan Khatri is remembered as India’s first legitimate bookmaker and a betting pioneer, who transformed matka into an organized and highly profitable industry.

• In April 2026, Ratan Khatri came into news, after a biopic series, titled Matka King, inspired by his life was released on Amazon Prime Video on 17 April, 2026. In the series actor Vijay Varma played the role of Matka King Brij Bhatti, a fictional character believed to be inspired by Ratan Khatri.
  

  Matka King (2026) web series poster