Police Across India Crack Down on IPL Illegal Betting
The venue, dates and empty stadiums may all be different, but one constant of the new IPL season is that illegal betting on the competition is once again flourishing.
Underground betting syndicates are cashing in on the fans' love of cricket betting, running sophisticated betting operations via a network of laptops and mobiles.
But police are fighting back. According to a report at Mid-day, Indian law enforcement have been active in operations against illegal betting gangs in the likes of Hyderabad, Uttar Pradesh, Kolkata, Goa, Delhi since the IPL started last month in the United Arab Emirates.
Goa police have busted at least two gambling networks in the state - on October 2 a hotel was raided, and three people from Hyderabad were found accepting bets on IPL matches. Another five people were detained at a villa in Candolim, a small village in Goa.
Police in Hyderabad have seized more than Rs. 22 Lakhs in cash, with 13 men apprehended by the Cyberabad Special Operations Team of Balanagar zone on October 4.
Uttar Pradesh forces have revealed at least 11 men have been arrested for their alleged involvement in betting, while the Kolkata police acting on a tip-off, conducted raids in Hare Street, Park Street, Jadavpur and Salt Lake areas last week. Nine more people were arrested.
Two people were also arrested in Vatika City with Subhash Boken, spokesperson of the Gurugram police, saying: "Based on specific inputs, the police raided the spot and nabbed the duo when they were placing bets on an IPL match played between RCB and Delhi Capitals".
Delhi has also seen a crackdown with reports of six people arrested with a laptop and mobile phone in their possession during a live match.
We've previously written on the scale of betting on the IPL with India's illegal betting sector estimated at $150 billion annually, and over 80% of that comprises betting on cricket.
Anti-corruption and integrity unit Sportradar has been employed by the BBCI for this year's IPL in a bid to monitor betting irregularities and sniff out any signs of corruption and match-fixing. The sport is desperate to avoid a repeat of the 2013 IPL match-fixing scandal, which isn't the only example of IPL corruption.
