Goa Crime Branch Arrests 34 in IPL Betting Racket

Assets Worth Rs 40 Lakh Seized.

In a coordinated pre-dawn operation, the Goa Crime Branch arrested 34 individuals involved in a sophisticated illegal gambling syndicate linked to the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL).

Acting on complaints filed by Police Inspectors Prashal Desai and Laxi Amonkar, two FIRs (No. 48/2025 and 49/2025) were registered between 1:10 a.m. and 7:05 a.m. under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Goa, Daman and Diu Public Gambling Act, and the Information Technology Act.

According to the police, the illegal betting operations were being carried out from two rented premises -- one at R&A Business Hub behind Punjab National Bank in Pirni, Nagoa-Salto, and another near Holy Cross, Curca in Panaji.

The accused were using betting apps such as Reddy, Lotus, and Lionking247.BET to solicit bets from members of the public. By impersonating account holders and luring users to deposit money into fraudulent bank accounts, the accused are alleged to have defrauded the public of approximately Rs 40 lakh.

The police seized 18 mobile phones, 5 laptops, 3 Indian passports, 11 bank passbooks, 8 cheque books, 54 SIM cards and 363 ATM cards from different banks.

Among items recovered by the police were 83 mobile phones, 6 laptops, 12 desktop computers, 6 CPUs, 3 routers, 84 bank passbooks, 27 cheque books and 109 ATM cards.

Investigations revealed that the accused had rented entire buildings to house their operations. This network had been functioning for the past several months, facilitating betting on high-profile cricket events including the ICC Champions Trophy and the IPL.

Several of the accused were also found to be handling customer support, pay-ins, and pay-outs for gamblers and bookies, suggesting a highly organised setup with national and international links.

So far this IPL season, Goa Police has registered six cases related to illegal betting—two from the North district and four from the Crime Branch. A total of 44 arrests have been made, and items worth nearly Rs 45 lakh have been seized.

The ongoing investigation is being spearheaded by PI Prashal Desai and PI Laxi Amonkar. Authorities believe this bust is just the tip of the iceberg in a much larger network.