An illegal online casino housed at Cyber Café Fun Point in East New Delhi’s Shakarpur was raided by local law enforcement over the first weekend in May. The bust was part of an anti-illegal gambling reduction agenda that local police have taken very seriously. The number of illegal gambling cases has increased over the past few years, from 1,098 cases in 2016 to 1,273 cases in 2017. To curb further growth, local law enforcement has picked up on tips more and in 2018 there were nearly over 300 reports of illegal gambling by March and over 1,000 arrests have been made.
Concerning the bust of the Cyber Café Fun Point in Krishna Kunj in Laxmi Nagar, six operators of the illegal gambling house are considered suspects and have been taken by local authorities for questioning. Local news reports claim that these individuals expressed that they were forced to operate the illegal gambling house to earn income due to their unemployment. The raid resulted in 15 confiscated PlayStations and desktop computers which were used in the illegal gambling operation.
The PlayStations were installed with a betting software which when connected to desktop computers allowed patrons to bet and gamble online. To play, customers were required to place a minimum bet of 1,000 rupees but were promised they could make 36,000 rupees back if they were lucky enough. The game these customers were playing on is known as Game King India, a popular online portal which allows players illegal access to a variety of games of chance – many of which are forbidden for India players to participate in as per government instilled gambling laws. Many operators select this software for gambling rackets due to the lucrative promise of a profit share of 50% for retailers and customers.
Efforts to trace and track the masterminds behind Game King India are underway as the illegal gambling platform currently runs in seven states. Game King India is and will always be considered an illegal platform due to being unsanctioned by India’s government and lack of legitimate licensing from any Indian state. It is a risk to participate in any games that Game King India offers due to the manipulation of the software to ensure that any money a player puts in will never come back out. Software manipulation is not new but is the main reason why the India government is vehemently trying to put an end to Game King India and any illegal house organizers who run the software.
The organizer for Fun Point’s illegal gambling racket had a past arrest for running a similar scheme, therefore, the need to put an end to the software itself and any operators is key. For Indian players looking to gamble in a legal manner, there are several legally sanctioned overseas online casinos which can be easily accessed by computer or mobile device.