Telangana Police have dismantled a major online betting racket, arresting 11 individuals involved in operating the Dafabet platform and defrauding victims across multiple states.
Key Points
- Telangana CID arrested 11 people, including a foreign national, for running online betting operations via Dafabet.
- The investigation uncovered a network of 46 mule bank accounts used to route illegal betting proceeds across multiple states.
- Accused lured victims with promises of easy money and bonuses, initially providing small payouts to gain trust before encouraging larger wagers.
- Data revealed 225 complaints and 73 criminal cases registered against the accused across multiple states, indicating a pan-India operation.
- Telangana Police have registered 414 cases against illegal online betting applications and are conducting awareness programmes to educate the public about the risks.
The Telangana CID on Monday arrested 11 people, among them an Afghan national, for allegedly running online betting operations across multiple states through the international platform Dafabet, police said.
The arrests followed an investigation into a case in which a software engineer from Karimnagar allegedly lost Rs 9.95 lakh to online betting between 2024 and January 2025 after being lured by Dafabet's promotional campaigns.
The case was later transferred to a Special Investigation Team constituted by the Telangana government to combat illegal online betting apps and protect citizens from the financial and psychological harm caused by such platforms, CID Director General of Police Charu Sinha told reporters here.
Dafabet's Modus Operandi Uncovered
The SIT traced the complainant's funds through a network of 46 mule bank accounts spread across eight layers that were allegedly used to collect and route illegal betting proceeds, she said.
Forensic analysis of bank transactions, mobile numbers, email IDs, social media profiles and WhatsApp groups over a six-month period revealed a coordinated multi-state criminal network, Sinha said.
Explaining the modus operandi of the accused, she said they promoted betting on cricket, casino games and the Aviator platform through the Dafabet app.
Dafabet was launched in the Philippines in 2004 and later shifted its operations to the UK, according to the police official.
Multi-State Operation and Arrests
Six special teams were deployed to New Delhi, Gujarat and Punjab.
Despite the accused frequently changing mobile phones, SIM cards and locations to evade detection, sustained surveillance and field operations carried out over two weeks led to the arrest of the 11 accused on May 29, she said.
Transit warrants were obtained, and the accused were brought to Hyderabad for production before the Judicial Magistrate of First Class (Special Mobile) PCR Court in Karimnagar.
Luring Victims and Gaining Trust
According to police, victims were lured with promises of easy money, bonuses and high returns.
Funds were allegedly collected through UPI IDs, QR codes, internet banking and multiple bank accounts controlled by the network.
Initial payouts were strategically made to gain the trust of victims and encourage them to place higher wagers.
"Victims were initially given small amounts as winnings to gain their confidence. Later, they were encouraged to invest larger sums and eventually suffered heavy losses," Sinha said.
Roles of the Accused
Of the 11 accused, two were organisers who allegedly received funds from the app; three arranged mule accounts on commission; two created fake firms to route betting app funds; and four others provided technical support for the operations, she explained.
The Afghan national allegedly arranged mule accounts on commission.
The two organisers earned a commission of around 1.5 per cent daily, amounting to approximately Rs 8 lakh to Rs 10 lakh per day, according to an assessment of their bank accounts, the senior CID official said.
Pan-India Network and Awareness Campaigns
The investigation further revealed that the accused were allegedly involved in online betting offences across multiple states.
Data from the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) showed 225 complaints and 73 criminal cases registered against them in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Telangana, indicating a systematic pan-India operation, she said.
Police seized three cars, eight laptops, 26 mobile phones and Rs 3.21 lakh in cash from the accused.
Sinha said online betting and gambling are illegal in Telangana and that 414 cases have been registered across the state against various illegal online betting applications.
"As many as 108 online betting applications were identified and proposals submitted to MeitY, resulting in their blocking. A total of 37 online betting applications have been geo-fenced in coordination with Internet Service Providers (ISPs), restricting access to them within Telangana," she said.
As many as 25 celebrities and social media influencers endorsing such apps were counselled against promoting online betting platforms and encouraged to spread awareness about the associated harms, Sinha said.
All police stations in Telangana are conducting awareness programmes at public gatherings to educate youth and families about the risks associated with online betting and to encourage the reporting of suspicious activities, she added.
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