Hyderabad: Cricket, football or tennis, sports and games which are meant to be played and enjoyed have today become the bane of the youth, as dozens of gaming applications online are piggybacking them to lure the young into a world of cybercrime and suffering.
Three such youngsters who entered this underground world of online betting and borrowing spoke to TOI and shared how easy it was to start, and how difficult it was to crawl their way out to normalcy.
No harm in trying once, right?
Ramesh*, who is currently working as a customer service executive for foreign clients at a BPO was introduced to online gambling and betting when he was a college student. “I love cricket, and sometimes I used to have playful bets with my friends as a child; not for cash but for fun; as to who was going to win, or which player would score more.” Little did he know that this would soon push him into losing thousands of rupees through betting.
“A friend of mine introduced me to online betting websites, and I was immediately hooked. The possibility of getting instant and ‘free’ money was a thrill unlike anything else. So, I started putting in money from my monthly allowance into the Indian Premier League, Big Bash League and other sports through different streaming websites,” he said. These websites host pirated live streams of popular sports, and a dashboard is available. Here, users can place their bets through a discreet channel.
“Not everyone can access it, and only a select few verified users are given group chat links on Telegram on WhatsApp, which issue unique UPI IDs for transactions.” These UPI IDs are dummy mule accounts which are set up by the betting website operators to facilitate transactions which cannot be traced. “The system fully runs on trust, we send our bet money directly over UPI, and if we win, our proceeds are credited seamlessly,” he added.
But it was not all rosy for Ramesh, who soon ran into losses, prompting him to borrow money from friends, and at times even steal money from home. “I still remember how cheap I used to feel misappropriating the money of my parents, but how else could I recover my losses? At that moment, I felt like I had no other option,” he said resentfully.
Hope is good, until it turns fatal
Gokul* also found his way into the world of online gambling through word-of-mouth from his friends, but he explained how it was not just online betting that he got addicted to, but it was a false sense of hope which tried to take him down. “Let me explain how these online games drug you,” he began.
“When you first open the website, you are presented with a screen of the sport along with various parameters you can bet on, such as final match outcome, highest scoring player, run rates and even coin tosses. Here, you can either choose to back or lay.”
Back refers to backing a bet and lay refers to betting against that outcome. At the time of betting, the application displays what is called an ‘odds ratio,’ which changes instantaneously as the match proceeds. Once the person sets his bet, his win is calculated by the odds against the outcome. The worse the odds, the higher the yield if one wins.
“I got so addicted to the games that I spent whatever money I had and had no explanation to give at home. I made notes, used my calculator religiously and tried to crack the code of the game. If I won, the money was put back into the game. If I lost, I had to put more money back into the game to win, right?”
Today, Gokul continues to hunt for jobs after battling a bout of debt-induced-alcoholism, hoping to pay back the money he borrowed from his friends and family and restart his life.
Total surrender
It is when people are pushed to the limits, that they either take extreme steps, or surrender to their circumstances. Sudhir* was already deep down the rabbit hole of online betting, and after losing all his savings and running into debt, he turned to his last resort. Loan apps.
“I downloaded an app impulsively and did not think twice about the ramifications.” Sudhir here is referring to loan apps, some which are found on Google Play store and Apple App Store, and others which are directly downloaded and installed from the internet.
Demonstrating the process live to TOI, Sudhir opened one such app and explained the user interface. “You are asked to enter a lot of information such as your entire family details, your identity numbers, alternate phone numbers of friends and relatives, your residential addresses.”
But as each field is entered, the app also asks for external permissions, such as phone call logs, messages, GPS location and internal file storage. Then came the startling part of the loan apps, video testimonies.
“I will pay back the money I have taken, and the responsibility of paying the loan back is solely mine,” read Sudhir from a small script box, with his front camera open. This was how the loan apps collect their collateral, or simply, leverage.
Several instances of suicides caused due to defaulting on loan apps stems from such admissions on camera or through other proofs. Upon discovery of default from any user, recovery agents swiftly begin spam calling the borrower, threatening to release their documents, and testimony to their family, friends and at times their entire contacts list as a blackmail measure.
“These loan apps are usually fool proof, but for the earlier app I took a loan from, I simply blocked all calls and messages I got for loan recovery and deleted the app from my phone. But not all are lucky. Some are compelled to change their numbers, and at times even of their family members if they are continuously harassed.”
The loan app Sudhir used was a registered non-banking financial company having a certificate of registration issued by the Reserve Bank of India, but other offshore and unrecognised loan apps continue to operate undetected.
Currently, Sudhir owes ₹17,000 to one such loan application but is not bothered by it. “Out of sight, out of mind,” he said confidently pointing at his debt and CIBIL score.
No place for gambling in TG
The Telangana Cyber Security Bureau (TGCSB) has stated that online betting and gambling will be cracked down upon with an iron fist. “We are already reaching out to various stakeholders to ensure that the law of the land is not violated. Gambling is strictly illegal in Telangana,” said Shikha Goel, director of TGCSB. Gambling or gaming of any sort is illegal under the Telangana Gaming Act, 1974.
*Names changed to protect identity.
