'Illegal Gambling Sites Are National Security Threat'
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India is emerging as a major hub for illegal online gambling, with the top 15 unauthorized platforms receiving over 5.4 billion visits during fiscal year 2025 .
Annual deposits on these sites—like 1xBet, Parimatch, Stake, Fairplay, BateryBet—are estimated at $100 billion .
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Lack of Oversight:
These platforms often bypass age checks and KYC protocols, enabling access by minors. Some, such as Parimatch, even facilitate gambling via cash-on-delivery .
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Psychological Manipulation & Risk:
Operators use sophisticated design techniques, high-risk betting structures, and aggressive retention strategies to keep users—especially impressionable youth—engaged .
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**Advertising & Traffic Sources:**
Over 66% of traffic is direct—users entering URLs or using links—creating a facade of legitimacy.
Illegal platforms outpace major websites like amazon.in, google.co.in, and reddit.com in March 2025. They capitalize on aggressive SEO, mass-media (TV, billboards), and celebrity endorsements .
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Money Laundering & Illicit Finance Threats:
These operations exploit India’s payment infrastructure—including UPI mule accounts, dark web apps like XHelper, digital wallets, and cryptocurrencies—to facilitate money laundering, hawala-style transfers, and potentially terror financing .
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National Security Risks & Enforcement Gaps:
CUTS International warns the volume of untracked funds threatens national security. Enforcement remains manual and reactive: while ~700 sites are under investigation, and 357 have been blocked with ~2,000 bank accounts frozen, systemic regulation is lacking .
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Policy Recommendations:
Advocates call for a centralized regulator, domain‑monitoring protocols, payment-blocking systems, coordinated inter-agency efforts (including tech platforms), and consumer awareness initiatives—all based on global best practices
