Police in Telangana's Warangal town on Monday, November 29, busted an online cricket betting racket with the arrest of two organisers and seized over Rs 2 crore cash. The organisers were allegedly running the racket mainly from Mumbai and were getting customers through a website. They had allegedly received bets for the recent Twenty20 World Cup and India New Zealand Twenty20 series. Police arrested Madishetty Prasad, a native of Hanamkonda district, and Abhay Vilas Rao, native of Yavatmal district in Maharashtra and booked three cases. Warangal Police Commissioner Tarun Joshi told reporters that Rs 2,05,14,000 in currency notes of various denominations were seized from the accused.
Police also seized 15 debit cards and 43 cheque books used for frequent withdrawal of money from different banks. Eight mobile phones, which were allegedly being used for betting, were also seized. The Police Commissioner said that a WhatsApp group in each mobile phone had 150-200 members.
Explaining the modus operandi, he said the organisers were making customers and sending them links with username and password to participate in the online betting. "The betting was for every ball and every player and the organizers were offering big returns if the winning chances of a team were low," he said.
The accused were also allegedly using their platform for other forms of betting and games like Teen Patti. The police official pointed out that all such games are prohibited in Telangana. He said since indulging in betting is also an offence, the customers who lost the money had not lodged a complaint with police.
Online cricket #betting racket busted by #WarangalPolice, arrested two accused persons & seized Rs.2.05 crore, Bank passbooks, ATM cards, Cellphones.#OnlineCricketbetting #Warangal #Telangana pic.twitter.com/XLHrKukY7v
— Surya Reddy (@jsuryareddy67) November 29, 2021
The Commissioner said a team will be sent to Mumbai, from where the kingpin and other main organisers were functioning. They would keep 80% of the profit with themselves and transfer 20% to regional organisers like Prasad, according to the police.
Police investigations revealed that Prasad was arrested in two betting cases in Hyderabad during 2019. Since he was under the police watch in Hyderabad, he shifted to Warangal a few months ago and continued his illegal activities.
Joshi said the accused had also acquired property from the money earned through the betting racket. Police were conducting further investigation with regard to the property and were also analysing their bank accounts.