HYDERABAD: A 27-year-old student from the city, currently studying in Italy, has lodged a complaint with the Cyberabad cybercrime police alleging the existence of an organised racket involving private persons and illegal online betting websites. Based on his statement, a case has been registered under Sections 316(5), 318(4), 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 3(1)(i) of the Telangana State Gaming Act (TSGA) and 66-D of the IT Act.
The student claimed he lost Rs 50 lakh, while his friend Kulwanth Singh, a resident of Bhopal, lost Rs 60 lakh and died by suicide in December 2024. The complaint was filed earlier this month. The complaint names several betting platforms, including stakeid.com, lotusplay247.com, royalbook365.com and govinda365.io. A case has also been registered against several others allegedly linked to the scam.
According to the complainant, on December 6, 2023, while browsing Instagram reels with a friend, the complainant came across an ad offering “guaranteed toss-fix” predictions. It led to a Telegram channel named “THE MARS TOSS”, reportedly operated by a man identifying himself as Pottavathini Deepak from Korutla in Jagtial district.
Deepak allegedly lured users by sharing manipulated screenshots of supposed winnings and promising fixed match outcomes. The student said he initially received two correct predictions, likely staged to gain trust, after which he and his friend began transferring money to place bets through offshore sites. However, within 10 days, subsequent predictions failed. Both were misled into joining other private groups running similar scams. The student alleged that these groups operated with a common strategy: promoting false claims of fixed matches, encouraging monetary transfers and profiting through deception.
He told the police that the operators masked their identities using private, invite-only groups and continued to promote illegal betting, despite repeated flags and takedowns of their channels. Their persistent activity, he said, indicated deliberate intent, coordinated conspiracy and full awareness of the illegality of their operations.