Inter-state betting racket under pretext of online gaming busted in MP; 9 held

Indore: The Indore crime branch has busted an inter-state betting racket operating under the guise of an online gaming app and detained nine persons in this connection, a police official said on Monday.

Details of online betting of crores of rupees have been recovered from the accused, he said, adding that several mobile phones and ATM cards have also been seized from them.

Based on a tip-off, a house in the Silicon City of Rau area in Madhya Pradesh's Indore was raided late Sunday night.

An inter-state betting racket was found operating there under the guise of an online gaming app, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Rajesh Dandotiya said.

"People were given IDs and passwords through the app for betting and were asked to deposit cash in different accounts," he said.

"Based on this amount, people were given points and they were made to bet on defeat and victory. After winning money in betting, people used to redeem the amount through the app," the official said.

Nine persons associated with the betting racket have been detained. These persons, in the age group of 20 to 26 years, hail from Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Maharashtra, he said.

"Twenty mobile phones, two laptops and eight ATM cards have been recovered from the possession of the accused. Details of crores of rupees of online betting have also been recovered from them," the official said.

All the nine accused have been booked under the Public Gambling Act and further investigation is underway, he said.