IPL betting goes dark on Telegram, leaving enforcement agencies scrambling

With the ongoing Indian Premier League season triggering a surge in online activity, multiple enforcement agencies have stepped up surveillance of Telegram channels as illegal betting syndicates adopt a more sophisticated and decentralised modus operandi.  

Officials said encrypted messaging platforms such as Telegram have emerged as the new nerve centre for illegal gambling networks, where punters are increasingly leveraging data from free-to-play fantasy sports apps like Dream11 to participate in coordinated betting pools. 

The shift comes after the government passed the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act in August last year. Even as regulatory tightening forced several domestic platforms to suspend paid formats, creating a vacuum rapidly filled by offshore operators.  

Read e4m report on Surge in offshore betting ads

According to people familiar with the matter, the new ecosystem allows users to aggregate in large private groups, share real-time match insights and place bets via external link apps, often routing them to foreign-hosted websites. This layered structure has made detection and enforcement significantly more complex because transactions and communications are fragmented across multiple digital touchpoints.  

Amrit Kiran Singh, Founder President of SOGI said, "We had informed the government that the ban on Online Games is easier to circumvent because of VPN and " domain farming", mule accounts, crypto and cash delivery. As predicted the business of Online Games has continued unabated. Only Indian companies that employed lakhs of people got shut down and overseas companies,  particularly Chinese companies were handed over the substantial Indian business on a platter." 

Singh further said, "The fact that advertising has surged is further proof that business continues normally,as advertising has always peaked when events like IPL come along because these events have the potential of causing a spurt in business and competing companies try to increase market share at such junctures through creative marketing and advertising." 

“The decentralisation of betting activity through closed user groups is posing a fresh challenge. Traditional monitoring methods are proving inadequate,” an enforcement official said, adding that agencies are now deploying advanced digital tracking tools and coordinating across jurisdictions.  

In a recent crackdown, the Tamil Nadu Online Gaming Authority (TNOGA) blocked three Telegram groups along with their administrators for promoting illegal online gambling. The groups had a combined user base of over 13,500 members, underscoring the scale at which such networks are operating and targeting Indian users.

The development comes amid a broader national clampdown. The Centre has blocked around 300 additional betting websites and applications in recent months, taking the total number of prohibited platforms to nearly 8,400. Of these, close to 4,900 were blocked after the enactment of the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act 2025, which seeks to curb online money gaming while providing a framework for regulated gaming activities.

However, industry executives and enforcement officials point out that the law—yet to be fully notified—has inadvertently accelerated the migration of users towards unregulated offshore platforms that operate beyond Indian jurisdiction.

A spokesperson for Dream11 said the company has discontinued all paid fantasy contests in August 2025 in compliance with the new law and has since been warning users against fraudulent platforms impersonating its brand. Similarly, Probo issued a public advisory clarifying that it remains shut and cautioning users against misleading claims of resumed operations.

Enforcement agencies say such advisories highlight a growing trend where illegal operators exploit brand recall to lure users. Several offshore platforms, including 1xBet and Parimatch, are being circulated through Telegram groups and social media channels, often masquerading as legitimate or previously compliant services.

The scale of the issue is significant. Union IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw recently informed the Rajya Sabha that an estimated 450 million people have been adversely impacted by online money games, with cumulative losses exceeding ₹20,000 crore.

Agencies are now focusing on identifying key administrators, payment gateways, and digital trails to dismantle these networks.

As the IPL season progresses, authorities expect further escalation in such activities, prompting tighter monitoring and coordinated action across central and state agencies to contain the rapidly evolving betting ecosystem.