City police want Centre to ban betting websites

The City police want the Central government to ban websites which provide round-the-clock information about betting rates.

“We are planning to write to the Centre to ban Betfair, Bet365 and several other websites which provide round-the-clock information about betting rates,” a senior police officer said.
With the World Cup under way, police have arrested a number of bookies and people organising betting but they haven’t been able to go after the big fish: the main punters and bookies who operate out of Mumbai and Rajasthan. “It’s a difficult task to trace them as they are constantly on the move. Besides, these days the betting activity is carried out online and through mobile phones. That’s what has made it so difficult for us track them down,” the officer said.

Police are compiling the records of recent arrests made in betting. These records will be submitted to the higher authorities with a recommendation to ban the betting websites.

“We are planning to invoke Goonda Act against people involved in betting,” according to the officer.

But another police officer said banning the websites would not be easy as betting was legal in some countries. “We will take up the matter with the higher-ups and then take the necessary step. Right now, we carry raids as and when we receive information about places where betting is taking place. We’ll be more alert in the coming days as the IPL season is round the corner.”