CID Spreads Betting Apps Probe Across Six States, Eight Persons Held

Hyderabad: Crime Investigation Department (CID) officials probing illegal online betting app activities conducted raids across six states on Wednesday and arrested eight persons. The searches were carried out at premises linked to betting platforms, including Taj0077, Fairplay.live, Andhra365, Vlbook, Telugu365, and Yes365.

To curb the menace of online betting, the Telangana government had constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) under the overall supervision of the Additional Director General of Police, CID, Telangana, for a thorough probe into such cases.

CID chief Charu Sinha said that online betting and gambling platforms primarily target young adults and the general public by luring them with promises of easy money.

These activities, she noted, have pushed many individuals into severe financial and psychological distress, even leading to cases of suicide.

“The main accused were tracked using advanced scientific investigation methods. In a first-of-its-kind operation, the SIT and CID teams conducted raids across the country at six locations in Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Punjab, deploying six teams and nabbing eight accused operators,” she explained.

Explaining the raids, Charu Sinha said the investigation suggested that some of the main culprits may be based abroad. “During the raids, several hardware devices containing huge volumes of data were seized. Details of bank accounts, phone numbers, and email IDs were collected, and some accounts have already been frozen. Verification of the accused’s records revealed that they were running large-scale online betting operations across India, including in Telangana, where such activities are prohibited,” she said.

Investigators found that the accused had developed online betting apps and websites to attract users, mainly young adults, by offering quick monetary gains. They encouraged registrations, collected deposits through digital wallets, UPI, or bank accounts, and operated games such as online casinos and sports betting. The accused frequently changed domains or used intermediaries to evade law enforcement.

The SIT has taken up investigation of four major cases registered against the organisers of betting platforms including Taj0077, Fairplay, Andhra365, Vlbook, Telugu365, and others, for providing access to real-money online gaming in Telangana, where such activities are banned.