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India’s crackdown on illegal online betting continues with six simultaneous raids across the Telangana region.
Indian authorities set the tone for their attitude towards online gambling, which is illegal in the country, with a watchdog warning back in March before banning the practice in August. That followed the blocking of more than 1,500 gambling websites in July.
Now, the Telangana Criminal Investigation Department (CID) carried out simultaneous raids across six locations in Rajasthan, Gujarat and Punjab in the first-of-its-kind nationwide crackdown on online gaming. This led to the arrest of eight alleged operators linked to illegal betting platforms.
The raids were carried out by six coordinated teams on Monday, September 22 and Tuesday, September 23. The targeted operators were identified using gaming apps, including Taj0077, Fairply.live, Andhra365, Vlbook, Telugu365 and Yes365.
What sparked the raids?
The eight alleged perpetrators are accused of allegedly tempting people into high-risk wagers that ended up in financial losses for several players. The raids saw the seizure of multiple hardware devices with data connected to the illegal betting networks.
The investigation remains ongoing, according to the CID, as reported by The Hindu. The data found on the hard drives is being examined to trace cash flow and digital footprints related to the operation.
Early findings suggest that the leaders of the organization could be based abroad, with those arrested so far thought to be local handlers working in the network in India. However, further investigation is expected to draw more conclusions about a potential wider syndicate behind the illegal gambling network.
The presence of illegal gaming networks was already warned about by Indian ministers ahead of passing the bill to ban online gambling. However, it’s worth noting that it’s not yet clear if this network sprang up before or after the ban in August.
Featured image: Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
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The historic Missouri Powerball winner has spoken to the press for the first time, although he is still keeping his anonymity.
After winning a massive $1.78 billion jackpot in the second-largest Powerball win ever, the lucky player has now spoken to the New York Post for the first time, while maintaining his anonymity. In Missouri, lottery winners can remain anonymous forever if they so choose.
He went down to the lottery headquarters in Jefferson City to claim the massive prize of a one-time payment of roughly $410.3 million on Monday, September 22.
“I’m like a homebody,” the winner said. “The perfect day is sitting at home doing what I do — relaxing. I’m a millionaire, a multimillionaire, and I’m doing laundry last night…”
The lucky ticket was bought for the September 6 drawing, where he played the winning numbers of 11, 23, 44, 61, 62 and the Powerball of 17 at a QuikTrip convenience store in St. Louis. Since the win was confirmed, he said that, despite feeling excited about the jackpot, it has certainly disrupted his usual routine.
“It’s the best problem I’ve ever had,” he said. When pressed on his plans, he said he and his wife were planning to take a year for themselves and some quality time, with plans to let his wife slow down work-wise.
“I’m going to just do me for a year,” he added. “She’s going to drag me out of town now!”
A record-breaking Powerball winner
The record-breaking jackpot must be split between the Missouri man and another player in Texas, but the share of $893.5 million still makes him the largest lottery prize winner ever in Missouri. He could have chosen to have the full amount paid in installments, or a one-time lump sum of roughly $410.3 million – which is the option he took.
There have been four winning Powerball jackpots so far in 2025, with the most recent taking place in California and earning a lucky player a $204.5 million payday on May 31.
Featured image: Heute.at, licensed under CC BY 4.0
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