Hyderabad police bust illegal online betting gang, eight arrested

Eight individuals of a gang operating betting games through mobile applications were arrested during an operation by the south zone of the Commissioner’s Task Force and SR Nagar police. The police seized 18 mobile phones, three bank passbooks, 13 ATM cards and froze online transactions amounting to ₹29.81 lakh.

The arrested were identified as G. Vinay Kumar, 23, N. Sai Vardhan Goud, 22, D. Rahul, 23, D. Jeshwanth Teja, 22, Joda Venu Gopal, 31, Kola Ram, 23, Velpula Akash, and D. Pranay, 22. The prime accused, Rajesh and Aslam from Karimnagar, are absconding.

Police said the gang was running betting operations through apps like Khelostar, Khelo24, Khelo Exchange, Khelo Sports and Win Match.

Investigations revealed that Rajesh and Aslam had set up the network after moving to Hyderabad in search of employment. They procured bank accounts from acquaintances, which were used to facilitate transactions linked to betting user IDs. Police revealed that around 235 betting IDs had been identified so far.

The gang allegedly provided punters with user IDs, passwords and mobile phones on a commission basis, enabling them to place bets illegally. The other accused, who had migrated from Jagitial and Peddapalli districts, joined the network in Hyderabad and engaged in betting activities to earn money quickly.

Acting on a tip-off, the officials arrested the suspects near Nagarjuna School in SR Nagar and handed them over to the local police station.

A case has been registered under Sections 3 and 4 of the Telangana Gaming Act (Cr. No. 681/2025), and further investigation is under way.