A group of Indian citizens made headlines on Monday, July 11 after law enforcers caught them scamming Russian gamblers with fake Indian Cricket Premier League (IPL) matches.
Their mischievous plan was traced to three weeks after the final IPL match.
The group was alleged to have created their own version of the IPL where they broadcasted matches on various online platforms, particularly YouTube.
Police accused them of renting a cricket pitch, and employing computer-generated graphics to dupe unsuspecting betting fans.
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To make the league appear legit, the gang downloaded the sound effects of a famous Cricket commentator and crowd noise.
They also hired local young men in the state of Gujarat and asked them to put on jerseys of popular Indian cricket teams like Chennai Super Kings, Gujarat Titans, and Mumbai Indians.
“Fashioned along the lines of the popular Indian Premier League, a group of men in the western Indian state of Gujarat hired a field, set up cameras and asked local labourers to dress up in team uniforms to play cricket,”
"The games were then streamed on YouTube to unsuspecting betting operations in Russia, who bet on match outcomes,” a report on The Guardian detailed.
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Achal Tyagi, a local police officer added that the team even hired umpires with walkie-talkies, mimicking the IPL and international cricket matches.
"The set-up was good enough to trick unsuspecting people into believing it was a genuine cricket league,” Tyagi told Reuters.
Police stated that the four will be charged with gambling and criminal conspiracy-related charges since Indian laws do not allow individuals to place bets on cricket matches.
Gamblers had already reportedly placed bets worth 300,000 Rupees (Ksh445, 336) on the games prior to the suspects being arrested.
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