Will Crack Down On Betting Apps, Games: Revanth Reddy

Chief Minister Revanth Reddy today announced that the State government had decided to implement stringent measures against online applications related to rummy, betting and digital gaming.

Addressing the Assembly, Reddy said that the government planned to establish a Special Investigative Team to take comprehensive action against betting activities. He also said that strict measures would be taken against anyone who actively promoted or participated in the operation of betting apps.

"We are willing to amend legislation if necessary to impose harsher penalties. Telangana will not become a hub for betting addictions," the CM said.

He also said that investigations into online betting fraud through the State agencies alone would however not eliminate it, and that thorough inquiries were needed to be conducted by the neighbouring States and countries.

The Chief Minister also said that the Congress government had been governing the State without any disruption to law and order for the past 15 months, and dismissed claims by certain political factions that law and order were not being upheld in Telangana, calling such assertions entirely baseless. "The police are vigilant and respond to even minor incidents," he said. "Why is the Opposition so impatient? Why is it hell-bent on making such extreme comments? It appears as though there are deliberate attempts to undermine the progress of Telangana. They are plotting to destabilize the state's economy and damage its reputation. Our society will not stand for such schemes," he said.

The Chief Minister also alleged that the previous administration had failed to act when a lawyer couple was brutally murdered in broad daylight, and that the public still remembered the rape and murder of a veterinary doctor. "Telangana ranked fourth in the nation for incidents of rape against women in 2020. It is strange that the people in charge then are shedding tears now about crime," he said, and urged the Opposition to take senior Congress leader Jana Reddy as a role model for opposition leadership and provide constructive suggestions to the government.