Busting cricket betting got tougher this year, say cops

The pandemic has pushed everything online, and gathering evidence is not easy.

Police say checking cricket betting this season is harder as the pandemic has pushed gamblers completely online.

“Collecting evidence is tough. That’s why you have fewer convictions,” a top officer with the Central Crime Branch told Metrolife.

This year’s IPL season opened on September 19, and betting is thriving, police say.

“The bettors have moved to the outskirts of Bengaluru, where police surveillance is almost nil. They also frequently change locations,” another top policeman says.

Bettors work in closed groups, and use technology both to transact and destroy evidence, he says.

How they operate

This season, police have made arrests in Banaswadi and Malleswaram and raided places in Puttenahalli, Konanakunte, and Byatarayanapura.

A senior officer in the North East division says, “Online betting is not a web-based crime, it is an app-based crime. Here, the bettors download an app and operate on it.” Apps use secure cloud servers. And the cloud could be in some other country, he explains.

The police are running into “too many firewalls,” he says. “You have to play smart and in such a way that the bettors believe you are one of them,” he observes.

The betting groups are hard to track because they are so discreet, says Kapil Gupta, director, Volon Cyber Security. “For instance, a Telegram group can only be monitored if one becomes a member. You need to understand that is possible under ‘disguise only’, that is, when one poses as a player and also shows that kind of a reputation in order to receive an invite,” he adds. Like Whatsapp, Telegram offers encryption and a high level of security. It has features like ‘message auto delete’ and allows for a larger participant base, which makes it a preferred platform, says Gupta. Investigators named sites such as Lotusbook, Cric365day and Falcon as the ones used for cricket betting. The Indian public has multiple ways to upload payments to such sites using legitimate payment platforms, they say.

Training on

Gupta says police cyber cells are increasingly training their staff to focus on the darknet and Telegram groups.

These groups are similar to the ones used by stock traders to share inside information.

“Nobody comes forward to raise a complaint because they too are involved in an illegal business. If they did, we would be able to go after some of them,” explains the officer.

Why no convictions?

Guru Prasanna, advocate, says India has no physical betting parlours.

“Betting is illegal in India, so some people use websites that are registered outside India, which complicates the case. Tracking and gathering evidence is tough because these frauds are quick,” says Prasanna. Gathering evidence is easier in physical “search and seizure” cases, he agrees.

Four arrests

The Central Crime Branch of the Bengaluru police has arrested four persons in three online betting cases and seized Rs 6 lakh in stakes this season. IPL matches began on September 19.