Betting apps case: Telangana SIT, CID conduct raids in 3 states

Hyderabad, Sep 24 (IANS) The Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the Telangana government to curb online betting and the Crime Investigation Department (CID) conducted raids in Rajasthan, Gujarat and Punjab and arrested eight accused, a top official said on Wednesday 

Charu Sinha, Additional Director General of Police, CID, who is heading the SIT, said six teams conducted raids at six locations in the three states.

They arrested eight accused operators for conducting online betting through six betting apps and causing public to lose large amounts of money, she said.

The accused were operating betting apps Taj0077, Fairply.live, Andhra365, Vlbook, Telugu365 and Yes365.

Online betting and gambling activities primarily target young adults and the general public by luring them with promises of easy money. These activities have ultimately pushed many individuals into severe financial and psychological distress, even leading to instances of suicide, the official said.

Charu Sinha said the SIT took up investigation into four important online betting app cases which includes a case was registered against the organisers of online betting platforms such as Taj0077, Fairplay, Andhra365, Vlbook, Telugu365, and other similar applications, for providing access to online gaming involving real money in Telangana, where such activities are prohibited.

She stated that the main accused were tracked through scientific investigation by using latest technology.

Investigation discloses the identity of the main culprits may be based abroad. During the raids, several hardware devices with huge data have been seized. 

The details of bank accounts, phone numbers, and email IDs were collected and some of the bank accounts have been frozen, the SIT chief said.

Upon verification of the accused’s records, it was found that they are operating online betting business on a large scale across India, including Telangana.

On the modus operandi of the organisers, the SIT chief said they develop online betting apps/websites to attract users, target young adults and the general public with promises of easy money. 

The accused encourage registrations, collect deposits through digital wallets, UPI, or bank accounts from the bettors. They operated games like casino or sports betting. 

The accused frequently changed domains or using intermediaries to evade law enforcement. These activities led users into financial and psychological distress, benefiting the organizers at their expense.

--IANS

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