How bookies and punters kept police on toes during IPL season

Fans throng to buy tickets for an Indian Premier League match. Delhi Police has been busy tracking down those indulging in betting on IPL games.
| Photo Credit: FILE PHOTO

A month after the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 kicked off in April, ASI Prakash Chand from the Narcotics Squad, South district, received a tip-off regarding online betting on a match — being played between Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants — by two brothers at a house in Ambedkar Nagar.

On May 7, around 6 p.m., he and a team of seven police officers raided the house after conducting a reconnaissance of the area and arrested two persons — Akash, 27, and Vishal Gupta, 30 — both residents of Dakshinpuri.

Revealing that the two had access to illegal online betting applications through international platforms, the police said seven mobile phones and a laptop were seized from the duo whose job was to take bets from punters and clients, DCP (South) Chandan Chowdhary said.

During the ongoing IPL season, when most people have been glued to their television sets or news and social media platforms to know the latest score, Delhi Police has been busy tracking down those indulging in IPL betting.

While the Public Gambling Act, 1867, makes betting and gambling unlawful in most parts of the country, the police have busted several rackets during the IPL season over the years.

Disguising themselves as spectators, the central district in April arrested 25 persons from the Arun Jaitley Stadium during a match between Delhi Capitals and Gujarat Titans. All of them were booked under the Delhi Public Gambling Act.

An officer, who has been closely involved in such operations, said most of the people involved in IPL betting are in the age group of 25-40 and from upper-middle-class families. “While many have been associated with the IPL illegal rackets for more than 10 years, most of them are highly educated and operate from their homes, making it difficult for us to keep track of them. We rely on local informers and have to remain alert during the match season,” the officer said.

Online betting is carried out through various applications, DCP (Central) Sanjay Sain said. “The bookies are expected to cash in on the fraction delay in broadcast to place the rates of bets and the bookies have to remain online constantly to revise the rates on IDs used by them.”

According to the officer, to update the betting rates, the accused persons use online IDs and mobile applications that are not easily accessible.

An officer who busted a similar racket in Hauz Khas told The Hindu that two persons are usually needed to maintain the punters’ accounts using the betting assistant Software. “One person remains seated at the stadium where the match is being played with a phone or an electronic device. This person’s job is to provide the real-time score, which is one or two balls faster than the live match being shown on TV channels,” he said.

“Most of these illegal sites and software are operated from Dubai,” the officer said, adding that police have identified several such kingpins.

“It is easy money,” another officer said, adding that betting is a game of numbers that people have been playing at different levels of their economic conditions. For the lower income groups, it is satta parchi (gambling with slips); for middle- and higher-income groups, it is IPL betting.

Fans throng to buy tickets for an Indian Premier League match. Delhi Police has been busy tracking down those indulging in betting on IPL games.
| Photo Credit: FILE PHOTO

A month after the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 kicked off in April, ASI Prakash Chand from the Narcotics Squad, South district, received a tip-off regarding online betting on a match — being played between Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants — by two brothers at a house in Ambedkar Nagar.

On May 7, around 6 p.m., he and a team of seven police officers raided the house after conducting a reconnaissance of the area and arrested two persons — Akash, 27, and Vishal Gupta, 30 — both residents of Dakshinpuri.

Revealing that the two had access to illegal online betting applications through international platforms, the police said seven mobile phones and a laptop were seized from the duo whose job was to take bets from punters and clients, DCP (South) Chandan Chowdhary said.

During the ongoing IPL season, when most people have been glued to their television sets or news and social media platforms to know the latest score, Delhi Police has been busy tracking down those indulging in IPL betting.

While the Public Gambling Act, 1867, makes betting and gambling unlawful in most parts of the country, the police have busted several rackets during the IPL season over the years.

Disguising themselves as spectators, the central district in April arrested 25 persons from the Arun Jaitley Stadium during a match between Delhi Capitals and Gujarat Titans. All of them were booked under the Delhi Public Gambling Act.

An officer, who has been closely involved in such operations, said most of the people involved in IPL betting are in the age group of 25-40 and from upper-middle-class families. “While many have been associated with the IPL illegal rackets for more than 10 years, most of them are highly educated and operate from their homes, making it difficult for us to keep track of them. We rely on local informers and have to remain alert during the match season,” the officer said.

Online betting is carried out through various applications, DCP (Central) Sanjay Sain said. “The bookies are expected to cash in on the fraction delay in broadcast to place the rates of bets and the bookies have to remain online constantly to revise the rates on IDs used by them.”

According to the officer, to update the betting rates, the accused persons use online IDs and mobile applications that are not easily accessible.

An officer who busted a similar racket in Hauz Khas told The Hindu that two persons are usually needed to maintain the punters’ accounts using the betting assistant Software. “One person remains seated at the stadium where the match is being played with a phone or an electronic device. This person’s job is to provide the real-time score, which is one or two balls faster than the live match being shown on TV channels,” he said.

“Most of these illegal sites and software are operated from Dubai,” the officer said, adding that police have identified several such kingpins.

“It is easy money,” another officer said, adding that betting is a game of numbers that people have been playing at different levels of their economic conditions. For the lower income groups, it is satta parchi (gambling with slips); for middle- and higher-income groups, it is IPL betting.