Question

how did cricket become a money making game

Answer 1

because for winning people are giving money or we can say corruption is happening there also.

Answer 2

Cricket became a money making game with the advent of instant or limited overs' cricket as spectator interest began to wane for test cricket. Started by Channel 9's owner and TV magnate, Kerry Packer, seeds of limited overs'  cricket was sown in Australia, but saw gradual growth after Cricket's First World Cup was hosted by England in 1975. Later, in the first decade of the twenty first century, Twenty Twenty or T20 Cricket was conceived and this has become a money spinner, with tournaments sprouting in most leading cricket playing nations. As the levers of power in cricket shifted from Australia and England to South Asia, more specifically to India, advertising revenues and ticket sales for matches began showing exponential growth. Thus the game has today become a money making machine.