The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has intensified its vigilance on gambling applications as a result of the rising influence of offshore betting platforms in India.
According to the Economic Times, the ED is monitoring more than two dozen offshore gambling applications for remitting and round-tripping funds.
Gamblers have incurred losses up to Rs 1 lakh crore because of these offshore gambling apps.
The development comes at a time when the government is finding myriad ways to stop gambling done through fraudulent offshore apps.
The Ministry of Consumer Affairs is reportedly even thinking about possible action against indirect and surrogate advertisement to curtail the gamblers and their visibility online and rope them into custody.
Advertisement
Majority of these perpetrators are based in UAE, Sri Lanka and a few other South Asian countries with associated tele callers and bookies operations out of India.
It is reported even when a gambling application is shut down, the people behind the app float another one and continue their operations.
As far as their operations are concerned, money is collected from the gamblers in mule accounts opened in the names of vegetable sellers, small grocers, neighbourhood tailor and rickshaw drivers. They enticed to lend their IDs with a small amount of money and the funds are subsequently transferred to current accounts of private limited entities.
Advertisement
Mule accounts are bank accounts that facilitate illegal transactions by receiving and transferring funds from unlawful activities.
There is no law in India that explicitly bans online gambling.
In March, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) have also reportedly advised the social media influencers to refrain from promoting or advertising offshore online betting platforms.
Inc42 cited that India’s online gambling market is estimated to be $2.9 billion by 2024. The country’s gambling market is expected to touch $5.49 billion at a CAGR of 8.10% from 2024-2031.
