Police busts organised cricket betting racket, one held

Hyderabad: The Hyderabad Commissioner’s Task Force, Central zone Team, along with Sultan Bazar police, busted organised cricket betting rackets and apprehended a person who is a collection agent at Wall Street Apartment in MJ Market road. Police seized Rs 8 lakh, a mobile phone, a bike, and a counting machine from his possession.

The arrested person, Vikas Jain (41), is a betting amount collection agent of Majestic Pride, Goa. According to police, Vikas worked as a betting amount collection agent under the main organisers and earned commission illegally. They are organising through an online betting app, http://luckystar123.in. This app was being shared with punters, sending user IDs and passwords for online betting to ongoing cricket matches. The main organisers were operating from Goa by appointing respondent Vikas as their collection agent in Hyderabad through WhatsApp. Police said Vikas worked under main organisers Vikram, Sagar, and others who are organising online betting for ongoing cricket matches and casino betting in the name of Majestic Pride, Goa.

YVS Sudheendra DCP Task Force said that as per the organisers instructions, Vikas Jain was collecting betting amounts from punters and customers in Hyderabad and remitting the same to the other punters who won or lost. “Vikas Jain has contacts with about 20 to 35 punters belonging to different states’ ongoing live cricket matches, and the punters are sending money by way of cash or online Google Pay and PhonePe,” said DCP.