IPL 2023: The 16th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is about to begin, with Gujarat Titans (GT), the defending champion, meeting Chennai Super Kings on March 31 at Ahmedabad’s illustrious Narendra Modi Stadium. With the biggest cricket carnival just a day away, bookies and match fixers are getting set to make at least Rs 600 crore everyday in profits. Follow Indian Premier League 2023 LIVE updates with InsideSport.IN
Bookmakers with connections to international betting cartels located in Dubai and Karachi have already begun taking bets in a number of Indian cities, including Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Bhopal, and Hyderabad.
For the purpose of placing bets, they have provided code numbers to bettors. The multi-million dollar betting ring has taken on a new dimension with the arrest of alleged big time bookie and hawala operator Anil Jaisinghani for reportedly blackmailing Amruta, wife of Mumbai’s deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who is in charge of the home department.
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Mumbai Police Identifies network of bookies ahead of IPL 2023
The Mumbai Police Crime Branch has discovered a network of 18 cricket betting apps and 60 bookmakers run by bettors who accept wagers on IPL games. During raids at the Dadar hotel last November during the England vs. Pakistan T20 World Cup final match, the Anti Extortion Cell (AEC) of the Mumbai police uncovered an interstate internet betting ring.
This resulted in the arrest of five bookies and the information on 18 online betting apps. The six bookmakers who were detained—Anthony Dias, Imran Khan, Dharmesh Shivdasani, Dharmesh Vora, and Gaurav Shivdasani—leaked information on a network of 60 bookmakers operating in Mumbai and the Thane region as well as a worldwide cricket betting syndicate based in Dubai.
“IPL cricket betting turnover is bigger than Maharashtra state budget. Each session of six, ten and 20 overs net Rs 3,500 crore per match in the IPL 2023 season 16 with 74 matches between 10 participating teams and each team playing 14 league matches,” boasts a former cricket administrator to FPJ about the popularity of IPL in India.
The Free Press Journal has exclusive access to the Mumbai Police report on a network of cricket bookmakers that operates several well-known betting shops and online betting services, accepting wagers on everything from simple match win and loss outcomes to the highest scores, boundaries, wickets, and even the individual player performances of each IPL team. The betting rates were transmitted from Pakistan to Dubai, then to India and other markets, with threats from D Company to get the various members of the cricket betting syndicate to follow their instructions.
India Betting Market
Police have named several prominent bookmakers, including Manoj Metro, Vishal Chembur, Shrayansh, Yogi Thana, Shehnaz Ghatkopar, Mehul CP Tank, Dhaval Lalbaugh, Sonu Jalan, Pravin Bhera, Laxmichand Thana, Mahadev, Ketan A to Z, Justin Goregaon, and Nikunj. They all have employed 30 agents to take bets online in order to avoid being watched.
Bet Bhai Book, Bet Exchange, Matrix, Diamond, and Bet999 are a few of the well-known mobile betting applications and websites that the police and intelligence organisations keep an eye on. They all provide WhatsApp services around-the-clock.
The International Centre for Sports Security estimates that India’s betting sector is worth more than $130 billion.
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