KATHMANDU, Nov 25: Nepal Police on Monday revealed that more than Rs 20 million has been channelled through illegal online betting during the ongoing second edition of the Nepal Premier League (NPL). The police made this revelation following a coordinated operation that busted a gambling gang and another group attempting to influence players for match-fixing.
At a press briefing, Kathmandu Valley Police said the Kathmandu Valley Crime Investigation Office has arrested 10 individuals linked to illegal betting. The arrests followed days of surveillance inside the stadium and close monitoring of suspicious activities during the cricket matches.
On Sunday, police detained eight Indian nationals for conducting real-time betting from the stands. A few days earlier, officers had arrested two others for attempting to lure NPL players into spot fixing by manipulating certain balls as per their instructions.
Police bust online betting racket, a person involved in betting...
Superintendent of Police Pawan Kumar Bhattarai said the suspects were using platforms such as stake.com, bedbook.com, betacular.live, and other mobile applications to run the betting scheme.
The operators exploited the few-second delay between live action inside the stadium and the broadcast received by viewers. “They updated odds almost instantly from the stands, using the broadcast lag to manipulate bets,” SP Kaji Kumar Acharya of the KVCIO said.
Plainclothes policemen have been deployed in the game so as to closely monitor any untoward activities. Those arrested were followed by the police after noticing suspicious behavior.
Police seized 15 mobile phones from the arrested individuals and are carrying out a detailed technical analysis to uncover the full extent of the network.
Authorities said that additional operators, online handlers, and cross-border connections may still be active. Police have intensified efforts to track digital financial crimes and prevent illegal gambling from penetrating Nepali sports, warning that such activities pose a serious threat to the credibility of national and international tournaments.
-1765616104.webp)
-1765616104-1765618344.webp)
