Vaibhav, a resident of Junnar near Pune, was addicted to playing games online and lost approximately Rs 1.5 lakh to gaming apps.
After an initial return of a couple of thousands, he realised that the money that he was putting into the wallets of these gaming apps would never be credited back to his bank account. It took him a couple of months before he could get rid of his addiction and now, he advises people to not fall prey to the apps.
“In gaming apps, one is made to believe that they will win money. But the money never comes back to their account. One thinks they are winning money but they only end up losing. These apps are designed in a way to make you win initially so that you get addicted,” said Vaibhav.
Sources said for all players in the game, the losing amount of one player is adjusted with the winning amount of another.
Like Vaibhav, there are many people across the country who fall prey to the ‘scams’ that these gaming app companies run.
A graver case was reported from Nagpur where a Class 9 student became a victim of sextortion via the gaming apps.
The incident dates back to the Covid-19 pandemic when schools were run in the online mode during lockdown. The student, addicted to online games, lost a bet and the opponent asked her to pay him Rs 2,000 or send her nudes. After he received her nudes, he blackmailed her by sending those pictures to her relatives. Following this, the minor’s parents filed an FIR and the accused was arrested.
Many such victims, primarily from tier 2 and 3 cities and towns, have been defrauded by these betting apps that masquerade as skill-based gaming apps to evade the law.
Gambling or gaming has been defined by the Supreme Court in 1996 as betting and wagering on games of chance only. The Supreme Court in this judgment specifically excluded games of skill, irrespective of whether they are played for money or not, from the definition of gambling.
“The definition under gambling is outdated and has not been modified ever since the British era. In those days there were no apps. The app makers in today’s era are using those loopholes to market their product,” said Deepika Singh, cyber expert and CEO of DCCF labs.
The apps came into the limelight after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigation into Mahadev App revealed the complex web of technicalities and modus operandi used to fleece people.
Decoding the Math Behind the ‘Games’
Winning Cash = (Sum of all points of opponents) X (Rupee value of the point) – Fee
Let us understand with the example of a gaming app:
Imagine six players are playing for cash on a Rs 860 table. Each point has a pre-decided value of Rs 4. There will be one player who will be the winner and the remaining five will lose the game. The losing points of the remaining five players would be 45, 78, 23, 20, and 40 respectively. The winnings will thus be calculated as:
4 x (45+78+23+20+40) = Rs 824
This amount, after the deduction of fee, will reflect in the player’s account.
A similar modus operandi is used by Mahadev App, which is under the agency scanner.
What are the aspects that ED is investigating?
Companies affiliated to Mahadev App include stock market investment companies, event management companies and travel companies. These firms and affiliations were used to park and launder money through Hawala operations.
What does the ED investigation state?
As per the agency, Kolkata-based Vikash Chhaparia handled Hawala-related operations for the Mahadev App. The companies involved are M/s Perfect Plan Investments LLP, M/s Exim General Trading FZCO, and M/s Techpro IT Solutions LLC, while Rapid Travels handled ticketing operations of the Mahadev App.
The probe also brought the spotlight on the wedding of app promoter Saurabh Chandrakar in which private jets were used. The wedding planners, dancers, and decorators were hired from Mumbai and Hawala channels were used to make payments in cash. The transactions were found to be done in the name of M/s R-1 Events Pvt Ltd of Yogesh Popat.
The Mahadev App also has sister concern websites such as fairplay.com, Reddy Anna APP, Raipur Book, Lotus 365, James 777, LuckyBook91, RatanBook, Cricket99, BetBhai9, and BetBook239, the investigation revealed.
IDs were made from multiple platforms for games such as poker, cards, betting on cricket, badminton, tennis, and football on sites such as laser247.com, laserbook247.com, www.betbhai.com, betbook247.com, tigerexch247.com, and www.cricketbet9.com among others.
Details Known So Far
The Mahadev App racket is worth Rs 5,000 crore, ED probe has revealed. A total of 75 FIRs have been registered in 3-4 districts of Chhattisgarh against the app. Agencies are currently probing 50 corporate accounts and 10,000 savings accounts used for transactions and about 429 accused have been arrested. Apart from this, 3,033 bank accounts details are under the scanner and 1,035 accounts have been frozen.
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