Ahead of ICC Cricket World Cup which is about to begin next week, the city police have focussed on possible cricket betting gangs getting active in the city. The recent cricket betting case, involving 11-persons from Anakapalli and Visakhapatnam, has once again brought the issue to the fore.
With the recent case, the police observed that betting using online applications has gone up drastically and it has also spread to rural areas. The police teams found that in the 11-member gang, which was arrested has made transactions, worth approximately ₹360 crore in the last two years, through these apps. The main accused in the case Suri Babu has been making a turnover of ₹5 crore every year through these betting applications.
“In the initial stages, the bookies will give profits to the punters. But gradually as one goes to the next level, the investment will be high and there will be loss of money. The bookies can also manage the application servers, so that the punter will face financial loss,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law & Order) K. Srinivasa Rao.
Mr. Srinivasa Rao also said that under the supervision of Police Commissioner Ravi Shankar, the city police have kept a strict watch on the gangs and appealed to people not to enter into such games, which could financially ruin them. He also urged people to come forward, if they have been duped by any betting gangs, so that the police could try to freeze the money by contacting the bank authorities.
Visakhapatnam city is not new to betting gangs. In most of the cases, the accused who are mostly inter-district were found to be operating from rented houses, posh duplex apartments and connecting with bookies in various parts of the country.
During June this year, the city police busted an online gaming/betting racket and arrested 19 persons. The racket was being organised from a house in the name of online grocery business at Madhurawada under PM Palem police station limits. The police were able to freeze ₹5 crore. During September, last year, the police had arrested a gang operating from the Beach Road and has freezed close to ₹70 lakh. During May 2022, the police had also arrested a gang, at Duvvada, which was conducting betting for Indian Premier League (IPL)