Karnataka Cyber Command unit blocks 8,750 sites ahead of IPL final, news sites also bear brunt

“Acting on credible intelligence, specialised cyber teams conducted coordinated online investigations identifying organised groups running illegal cricket betting platforms. These platforms were found to be operating through mirror domains, subdomains, and cloned URLs,” Pranab Mohanty, Director General of Police, Cyber Command, said.

“This crackdown has prevented huge losses to individuals, and has disrupted the illegal betting ecosystem in the country substantially,” Mohanty added.

The move was based on a First Information Report (FIR) registered under the Information Technology Act for computer-related offences, and under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for cheating.

“Further legal action has been initiated under relevant sections of the IT Act and BNS. Advanced technical investigation, including financial tracking of the money invested in betting and identification of betting operators are underway,” the police said.

The blocking order also inadvertently affected access to some news websites. Users trying to access these sites on mobile phones were shown a message saying: “Your requested URL has been blocked as per the directions received from the Department of Telecommunications.”

“The algorithm may have wrongly identified these sites as being linked to betting,” the police added.