BENGALURU: An India versus Pakistan cricket match is a mouth-watering opportunity for any bookie. With one such clash slated for Wednesday as part of the ongoing Asia Cup tournament in the UAE, betting syndicates in Bengaluru are preparing for hectic activities, and the police are making extra efforts to clamp down on bookies looking to cash in on the big match.
“Betting has not been so rampant in the city after continuous clamp-downs during the recent IPL matches. However, an India versus Pakistan match is being played after a long time and we are sure punters and bookies in the city will not let the opportunity go waste,” said a senior officer from the Central Crime Branch (CCB).
City police commissioner Suneel Kumar T has reportedly alerted all police stations in and around Bengaluru to keep an eye on betting rackets that might gain momentum. “We have been receiving information about WhatsApp groups being formed to co-ordinate betting and also some of the regular bookies’ mobiles are suddenly active. So we are keeping an eye on all the old-time bookies, even though we know that Bengaluru might really not be the epicentre for betting rackets,” the officer said.
While most of the betting these days happens either on the outskirts of Bengaluru or in Goa, there are some apartments which are known to have these kind of illicit activities going on. The city police is keeping tabs on such apartments. In the past, there have been raids at apartments located in Chamrajpet, High Grounds, Devanahalli, Sheshadripuram, K R Puram and other areas.
Tech capital provides training for bookies
It is learnt that bookies from neighbouring states often come here to update themselves on technology that can be used to evade the police —they return trained to use sophisticated equipment such as multi-level mobile phone connectors and others.
Speaking to CE, a police officer from West Godavari in Andhra Pradesh said, “The equipment seized during the IPL from some bookies in our jurisdiction is normally used for betting on horses at race courses. We found that many youngsters go to Bengaluru to get training on betting.” After the main bookies get trained, they hire an apartment in posh localities to avoid suspicion and recruit youngsters with a fair knowledge of cricket and computers. “They are hand-picked, preferably from rural areas, and trained to handle calls and betting,” an officer here said.
“We are trying to gather call data records to identify the customers, which will enable us to find other stakeholders in the illicit activity,” said an officer from CCB. However, arresting them has become a challenge. According to the police, only about 30 people have been arrested in last few years. “We have been tracking them online too, but it is a challenge, as many carry out these operations anonymously,” the officer said.
Even if the arrests are done, it is difficult to ensure conviction, as it usually gets dismissed in court, rued an officer. Although there are laws to deal with gambling, police action is confined to arresting small-time operators, as a majority of the bookies have connections in high places. The previous Siddaramaiah government had ordered opening of rowdy-sheets against betting racketeers, but the directive has been a nonstarter.
CRACK DOWN
May 28, 2018
Four bookies arrested from a house in Subramanyanagar, 28 mobile phones seized.
May 9, 2017
Alleged betting racketeer Sudhakar arrested at Rajajinagar and Rs 1.76 lakh seized.
May 6, 2017
CCB police raid a cricket betting den on Magadi Road, arrest Afroz Pasha and seize Rs 2.6 lakh.
May 1, 2017
Three people - Nagesh, Ravi and Uday Shetty - arrested during a raid and Rs 1.25 lakh seized.
May 15, 2015
City police arrested nine people and seized Rs 19.27 lakh during simultaneous raids on three cricket betting syndicates linked to a Mumbai-based bookie. Investigation reveals the use of hawala channels for transactions.
September 2014
CCB raid F1 Woods Apartments at Sultanplaya, arrest four main bookies and seized Rs 23.28 lakh. The syndicate was allegedly making hawala transactions to people in Rajasthan and Mumbai, who channelled the money to destinations in the Middle East, mostly Dubai.
Betting game
To start betting, one needs a couple of cell phones, calculators, and computers, internet and trusted people to run the show. Betting phone exchanges typically consist of 400-500 phone lines of punters connected via con-call. These lines are linked to live commentary from the stadium to get info in real time. They're at an advantage because the live audio is at least a ball ahead of TV broadcast. Bookies then place bets depending on how the match progresses. It could be a bet on who will win the toss, modes of dismissal of a batsman, total score or any other event.