Hyderabad Police bust online IPL betting racket in Himayath Nagar; three arrested

Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], May 1 (ANI): Three people were arrested for allegedly running an online cricket betting racket at Himayath Nagar area in Telangana's Hyderabad, police said on Thursday.
According to officials, the arrested accused have been identified as Sriraj Boob (42), a resident of Himayath Nagar; Hondmane Sainath (32); and Regalla Gopynath (29), both residents of the Chikkadpally area.
Acting on a tip-off, the Commissioner's Task Force, Central Zone Team, Hyderabad, along with officials from Domalguda Police Station, conducted a raid on an organised online cricket betting operation.
Police seized Rs 1,20,000 in cash and three mobile phones used for betting activities.
According to officials, Sriraj Boob is a habitual organiser of cricket betting.
"To earn easy money illegally, he has been organising cricket betting and accepting wagers from known and unknown punters," they said.
To assist in the operation, Boob enlisted the help of his associates, Hondmane Sainath and Regalla Gopynath, offering them a 5 per cent commission. They had set up a betting den at Pawani Lingaiah Apartments.
During IPL matches, Boob allegedly purchased access to the main betting platform from an agent abroad and provided login credentials to punters for live betting.
The platform offered live ball-by-ball updates and betting ratios, enabling the group to collect and transfer betting amounts to the main bookie on a commission basis.
On April 3, the accused were found to have been actively accepting bets -- both directly and indirectly -- for an IPL match, police added. (ANI)