Telangana govt appoints five-member SIT to probe online betting cases

Telangana government has constituted a five-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to conduct a thorough investigation into online betting cases and submit a report in three months.

The probe team will study the existing ecosystem that enables online betting and recommend necessary reforms to curb the activities.

Director General of Police (DGP) Jitender told PTI on Monday that apart from investigating the cases, the SIT will also look into the dimensions of the betting and gaming apps and how they are affecting the citizens of Telangana.

The DGP issued an order on Sunday appointing a five-member SIT, which will function under the overall supervision of the Director General,CID/Additional DG, ClD.

In addition, the team may seek assistance from any suitable officer, financial expert, law officer, auditor or forensic investigation specialist, as required for the purpose of investigation, the order said.

Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy had recently announced the formation of the SIT to prevent, prohibit and to take necessary measures against online betting and rummy games.

On the terms of reference for the SIT, the order said it shall thoroughly and expeditiously investigate all online betting cases that are specifically assigned or transferred to it.

The team shall evaluate legal provisions, regulations, and restrictions that can be introduced to prevent the organising, promotion, and advertising of online betting/gaming and suggest legal action.

It will study the role and responsibilities of Union and state agencies, including the IT department, GST authorities, among others, in regulating online gaming activities. The SIT will propose suitable measures to strengthen enforcement against such activities, the order said.

Among the other terms of reference, the probe team shall recommend policy and regulatory changes for payment systems and financial institutions to detect and block transactions linked to illegal betting and gambling operations and submit these recommendations to the Reserve Bank of India.

As per the Telangana Gaming Act 2017, any kind of online betting is prohibited, police said.

The DGP said the investigation will ascertain how many apps are operating in the state in spite of the ban.

Jitender further said that since January this year, they had consultations at various levels, including with the federation for online betting apps and gaming apps. "We have given advisory to them (apps) not to operate in Telangana. And they should do the geo-fencing in Telangana so that none in the state is able to have access of these apps. We need to understand how many apps are following and how many are not. If somebody is not following then we can take criminal action against them," he said.

He said all legal and financial implications and operational issues need to be understood.

The DGP said criminal cases will be registered where it is necessary besides issuance of advisory and notices during the investigation.

The idea of the government is that there should be 'zero-tolerance' against betting and gaming apps, Jitender said.

Police in Hyderabad have recently registered cases against illegal betting apps and promoters following complaints that these applications lured the youth and general public to make easy money and eventually led them into complete financial and psychological breakdown.

The cases were registered against the managements of the illegal betting apps/other applications, few film actors and several social media influencers for allegedly promoting online betting apps through social media platforms under various provisions of the Gaming Act, BNS and IT Act.

Some film and TV actress and social media influencers have recently appeared before the police in connection with the investigation into online betting apps.