Bookies back out, punters default

Cops freeze 1,000 accounts, arrest key bookies in pre-World Cup crackdown

The shockwaves of the defeat of Gujarat Titans on May 29, as Chennai Super Kings (CSK) secured their fifth IPL title, left a deep mark on cricket bookies. With Gujarat Titans having scored a healthy 214 runs, punters had betted heavily on the team, and when they lost, many didn’t pay up.
Of course, cricket betting being illegal, the bookies couldn’t openly complain, and those who had given IDs of cricket betting applications to punters lost the most.
Now, with the World Cup round the corner, bookies are refusing to give IDs to thousands of punters. Many bookies have also left cricket betting altogether.

CID Crime steps up against betting syndicate
The CID Crime, having previously arrested eight bookies during the India-New Zealand T-20 match in Ahmedabad, has escalated their crackdown. Key bookie Jitu Asnani was apprehended in Kota, Rajasthan, and a team has been deployed to Nagpur, Maharashtra, targeting accused Jitesh Bramlani.
Inspector A C Israni told Mirror that the cricket betting racket spanned across multiple states. Those arrested earlier had served as eyes and ears in the stadium for the bookies, beating the telecast delay to provide real-time updates.

Cybercrime unit readies for the ODI World Cup
With the ODI cricket World Cup set for October 2023, and five matches scheduled at the Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium in Ahmedabad, the cybercrime unit is already on alert. Over 1,000 bank accounts and e-wallets, believed to belong to punters, have been identified and blocked to discourage betting.
A senior cybercrime official explained that the bookies often rent regular accounts from uninvolved individuals, paying commissions to the account holders in exchange for usage.

Money laundering via cryptocurrency
A senior police official told Mirror that after punters deposit money into these rented accounts, it is converted into cryptocurrency and then transferred to offshore accounts. “They have a strong hawala network. We are working to expose and dismantle it,” said the police official.