Against 'Bettor' Judgment: Ahead of Cricket World Cup, Time to Duck Illegal Sites with Gambling Deals

The next time you see a betting teaser prompt on your cellphone screen guaranteeing high returns or any lucrative offers, think twice before clicking as it might be a trap. In a major crackdown against illegal betting sites ahead of the Cricket World Cup, Agra police has blocked around 27 of these platforms and at least half a dozen mobile applications that syphoned money abroad through cryptocurrencies, the dark web, and other payment gateways.

Officials from Uttar Pradesh police called it one of the biggest such crackdowns that saved around 15 lakh people from falling prey to illegal betting sites and around Rs 38,000 crore from getting moved to foreign bank accounts. Police have also arrested three people in this connection.

“The cybercell of Agra police has unearthed an illegal betting racket, which was found to be operated from Telangana. Ahead of the Cricket World Cup, it’s a major breakthrough. Other than blocking the illegal betting sites and mobile applications, around 7,000 mule accounts were also blocked,” said Dr Preetinder Singh, Agra’s police commissioner.

About a week ago, an FIR was lodged at Agra’s Shahganj police station on the complaint of a person named Hemant Tandon, accusing a major broadcaster of facilitating illegal betting by giving access to its users to third-party mobile applications.

Singh said initially police pursued it as a regular case under the IT Act, but it turned out to be just the tip of the iceberg. “During the investigation, our team discovered that the links of these websites led to Telangana and hence our team left for Telangana where they arrested three people,” he added.

What the trio told officials, left the cyber cell team shocked. “During interrogation, they revealed that the entire racket is being operated from China, Hong Kong, Thailand, and Vietnam. The makers of the mobile apps designed them here while keeping their identities undisclosed,” Singh added.

Online betting rackets often initially launch simple mobile applications that offer free livestreaming of cricket matches either for free or at a nominal cost. In the same websites or mobile apps, they try to link the users with third-party mobile applications being run on the host servers and not on Indian ones. On clicking the advertisements, these applications offer lucrative deals and ask the person to open an account. Once the account is created, these apps further simplify the betting process and link the users to WhatsApp, Telegram, and other social media sites.