Cricket fever sparks online betting frenzy

With the ICC Cricket World Cup currently underway, online betting is witnessing a surge in Bangladesh, resulting in crores of taka flowing out of the country every day.

At least 50 betting sites, operated from mainly five different countries -- Russia, Cyprus, Malaysia, India and UAE -- have agents in Bangladesh who are using mobile financial services (MFS) to collect cash from local users and then siphon the money off by converting the currencies through exchange sites, according to law enforcers.

In September, the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) blocked 21,725 MFS accounts due to their alleged involvement in hundi and online gambling.

BetWinner, melbet.com, bet365, Mostbet, linebet.com, and 22bet are some of the popular gambling sites in Bangladesh.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of police has recently forecasted a report based on information provided by some arrested agents. As it turns out, around Tk 260 crore was transacted through 1xbet in a year, while Tk 245 crore was traded through Bet365, Tk 230 crore through Mostbet, Tk 140 crore through Bet Winner and Tk 133 crore through Betbuzz, according to the report.

The BFIU 2021-22 Annual Report revealed that around US`$ 0.59 million was transferred to a Malaysia-based company from Bangladesh in six months for online game coins.

According to law enforcers, online gambling goes all year round but peaks during international sports tournaments, such as the World Cup, Indian Premier League, Big Bash, and English Premier League.

People from not only cities but also rural areas are getting engaged in online betting using MFS, being lured by advertisements and having easy access with smartphones, said Muhammad Rezaul Masud, special superintendent of police at CID's Cyber Crime Command and Control Centre.

The CID official also said they have arrested 11 people in this connection over the last three weeks.

EASY ACCESS TO BETTING SITES

"Play and Win", "Best online casino in the country", "Up to Tk 10,000 bonus for all new players" -- anyone browsing through Facebook or YouTube would frequently come across such advertisements of online gambling and betting websites.

In cricket, the bets are sorted across an array of categories -- ball by ball, the first ball of the match, over by over, first six overs of each match, whether a wicket will go in next over and which team will win, among others.

Getting into an online gambling site is very easy.

A gambler opens an account on these sites or apps using a phone number or email. An e-wallet is created against the account. With an initial zero balance, the person will add balance to the wallet using MFS among other options. After receiving the money, the local agents refill the gambler's account through online payment systems like Perfect Money, Skrill, PayPal, Net Hiller and Binance.

According to law enforcers, at least 25 currency exchange sites are being used by the betting agents to siphon off the money.

Investigators said 1xbet in Bangladesh is operated by a super-agent in Meherpur while bet365 is controlled by super-agents in Bagerhat and Khulna. Other betting sites also have similar agents in Brahmanbaria, Cumilla, Narayanganj, and Barishal.

DRIVES ON, BETTING TOO

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has so far blocked many betting sites, but gamblers can still access those using Virtual Private Network (VPN).

In October last year, the BTRC blocked 331 betting websites while Google removed 14 apps among 150 in Google Play Store which were reported by the BTRC for being connected to online gambling.

Also, 17 Facebook and 17 YouTube links were removed after BTRC reported against 27 Facebook and 69 YouTube links for being used to promote gambling and provide training on online betting.

Between April and May, the Anti-Terrorism Unit arrested 13 people from Rajshahi in two separate drives for their alleged involvement with online betting during IPL.

In August, the CID arrested 10 people associated with 1xbet and BetWinner on allegations of money laundering.

In another drive in October, they arrested four people involved with 1xBet for siphoning off around Tk 12 crore per month.

BCB Chief Executive Officer Nizam Uddin Chowdhury said they have a zero-tolerance position in this regard.

"We do not allow players to be associated with any organisation involved with online gambling," he said.

He, however, said they have no control over advertisement during games, adding that ICC has different rules about online betting as some countries allow it.