IPL betting crackdown in Bengaluru: Cops seize Rs 1.15 cr; find shady apps

Apps allow users to bet on various aspects of game, including toss. The crackdown has led to the discovery of a number of dubious websites and mobile phone apps, namely Paarker, Rilex, Dubai Exchange, Lotus and Biggbull 24/7, a senior police officer in know said.

Bengaluru: In a crackdown on IPL betting, Bengaluru police seized a whopping Rs 1.15 crore in five separate cases in just a week. Of this, Rs 86 lakh was seized on Thursday alone.

The crackdown has led to the discovery of a number of dubious websites and mobile phone apps, namely Paarker, Rilex, Dubai Exchange, Lotus and Biggbull 24/7, a senior police officer in know said.

According to police, the names are imitations of well-known brands, and thousands of people log in to these applications. Investigations revealed that the apps allowed users to place bets on various aspects ranging from toss to the entire match. For example, punters could bet on who would win the toss, what the outcome of a delivery will be, the match result and so on.

Punters use digital coins, which they call “chips,” to place bets on anything available in the application. The apps also offered premium and normal levels of betting. Several middlemen offered premium accounts for punters.

One such middleman, Ramakrishna N, a cook by profession, was arrested by the Central Crime Branch (CCB) in C K Acchukattu. Police say Ramakrishna oversaw the issuing of premium accounts for gambling apps and “chips”.

According to police, Ramakrishna managed punters who would pay him and get login credentials for betting platforms. With every purchase, they bought “chips” as well. Interestingly, gamblers used to buy accounts for just a few minutes as well, investigations revealed.

“As this gambling happens for ball-to-ball or even just for one ball, punters buy these accounts for 10-20 minutes. In all possibility, those who buy accounts for minutes sit inside the stadium and gamble to have an edge for winning,” a officer in the CCB’s special inquiry wing told DH.

According to the officer, many of these apps are banned and not listed on Play Store and other downloading platforms. However, these apps cropped up online as APK files and are going strong.

A senior CCB officer said that the “big fish” are those who maintain the servers of these apps. They recruit “handlers” who oversee operations and recruit smaller fish, such as Ramakrishna, to form different layers. This syndicate is similar to that of cybercrimes.

After Ramakrishna’s arrest, police are now cracking down on punters.

On Thursday, police arrested three people in separate cases. The suspects are Vijay Kumar from Jakkur, Dhruva Mittal, and Rohith Ranjan Ravi. According to police, Ravi was sitting inside the stadium and guiding punters playing ball-to-ball betting.

Akshay Hakay Machhindra, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime-1), said: “We are cracking down on both black marketeering of IPL tickets and betting. The drive has been taken up after the police commissioner ordered a crackdown on organised crime.”