Betting Apps in South Asia: A New Front for Money Laundering and Terror

When most people hear about online betting apps, they think of cricket matches and flashy ads. They also think of the thrill of quick money. But behind this glamour lies a darker reality. These apps are no longer just about gambling. They are being misused as secret pipelines for black money. They help hawala transfers and terror financing.

Investigations across South Asia show that extremist groups are exploiting these platforms. This includes Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and networks linked to the Taliban. What seems like a harmless bet on a cricket score might actually be part of a much larger chain. This chain ends up funding violence and instability across borders.

How Betting Apps and Terror Funding Are Linked

Most illegal betting apps operate through unregulated payment channels. While they look like normal entertainment platforms, they bypass financial regulations by using hawala networks, cryptocurrency wallets, and shell companies.

The flow typically works like this:

• A person places a bet in India.
• The money is routed through multiple digital wallets or fake merchant accounts.
• Funds are layered across borders and moved to countries where extremist outfits are active.

Because the amounts are broken into small transactions and hidden under digital layers, authorities struggle to track the trail.

Betting Apps and Terror Financing: The Extremist Connection

Security agencies warn that terror groups have identified betting apps as low-risk, high-reward channels. Unlike smuggling or traditional hawala, online betting leaves fewer physical traces. Transactions can be disguised as “gaming payments” or “entertainment fees,” making them hard to detect.

For groups like LeT, which require steady funding for recruitment, weapons, and propaganda, these digital gambling networks are increasingly attractive. Intelligence inputs also suggest that some of this money fuels radicalisation campaigns and sleeper cell operations in India and abroad.

Why It Matters to You

At first glance, this might look like a distant problem, something related only to terror groups. But in reality, everyday people are unknowingly becoming part of this chain. Each time someone uses an unregulated betting app, they could be helping fuel money that eventually reaches extremists.

This is not just about gambling it is about digital crime meeting national security threats.

At Crime Diaries, we cover such stories because they reveal how ordinary activities hide extraordinary dangers. What looks like just another cricket bet can actually fund violence that affects entire nations. Our aim is to uncover these dark realities so readers understand the true cost of what may seem harmless.

The Rise of Online Betting in India

India’s love for cricket has created a massive market for illegal gambling. According to industry estimates, the illegal betting market in India is worth nearly $150 billion annually. Much of this is tied to cricket tournaments like the IPL.

Thousands of offshore betting platforms—hosted in Dubai, Curaçao, or Caribbean tax havens—target Indian users. These apps rely on:

• Digital wallets
• Cryptocurrency transactions
• Fake payment gateways
• Hawala networks

These transactions cross borders and involve complex layers. As a result, it is nearly impossible for regulators to trace the real beneficiaries. This situation opens the door for extremist groups.

From Gambling Profits to Terror Funding

Investigative reports and intelligence inputs suggest that betting apps are now part of a larger black money laundering ecosystem. Here’s how the cycle works:

1. Collection of Funds
   • Lakhs of Indian users place bets on cricket and casino apps.
   • Money flows through wallets, UPI IDs, or even shell bank accounts.
2. Layering & Laundering
   • The funds are layered through multiple accounts.
   • Converted into cryptocurrency or routed via hawala.
3. Transfer Across Borders
   • Money is moved to Dubai or Karachi through informal hawala networks.
   • Offshore operators then divert a portion of these funds to groups linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba and other extremist outfits.
4. Utilization in Terror Activities
   • Funds are allegedly used for recruitment, propaganda, weapons purchase, and safe houses.

This model keeps the digital footprint minimal while ensuring a steady stream of income for terror organizations.

Lashkar-e-Taiba and Digital Laundering

Lashkar-e-Taiba, the group behind the 2008 Mumbai attacks, has long relied on donations, front businesses, and charity organizations. But with increased global scrutiny, they adapted. According to security analysts, betting apps have become one of their covert funding streams.

For instance, offshore betting websites linked to Dubai-based operators have been flagged by Indian intelligence for channeling money into Pakistan. In many cases, the front-end company appears legitimate. However, backend audits reveal ties with entities on watch lists for terror funding.

The Taliban’s Expanding Digital Revenue

The Taliban, which regained control of Afghanistan in 2021, initially depended on the narcotics trade, mining, and extortion. But after international sanctions cut off official financial channels, they too embraced digital laundering.

A UN Security Council report (2024) revealed that Taliban-linked entities are increasingly using online financial tools. These include betting platforms, crypto wallets, and hawala operators in the Gulf. They use these tools to bypass sanctions.

While narcotics still bring them billions, digital financial crimes have become a rising pillar of revenue. These crimes are harder to trace and easier to justify as “commercial activity.”

Hawala: The Invisible Thread

At the heart of this network lies hawala, the centuries-old informal money transfer system. Betting operators often pay out “winnings” in cash through hawala agents. The same network is used to divert laundered money abroad.

For example:

• A bettor in Delhi loses ₹50,000 on an app.
• That money is sent via hawala to Dubai.
• From Dubai, a cut is forwarded to Karachi, and finally into accounts linked with groups like LeT.

The bettor never realizes that his gambling losses will eventually fund a terror strike.

The Regulatory Blind Spot

Indian authorities have tried cracking down on illegal betting apps. In 2023 and 2024, several Chinese and Gulf-linked betting apps were banned. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) and National Investigation Agency (NIA) have filed cases linking betting apps to hawala and money laundering.

Yet, enforcement faces challenges:

• Apps reappear under new names within weeks.
• Offshore hosting keeps them out of India’s legal reach.
• Payment gateways disguise transactions as “e-commerce” or “gift cards.”

Unless a coordinated international crackdown happens, these platforms will continue thriving in the shadows.

Case Studies: When Betting Meets Terror

1. 2020 Hyderabad Betting Scam
   • Police uncovered a betting racket worth ₹700 crore.
   • Funds were traced to Dubai operators connected to hawala channels.
2. 2023 ED Probe
   • Found betting apps linked to Chinese and Pakistani handlers.
   • Suspected use of proceeds for cross-border activities.
3. Taliban Financing Reports
   • UN reports confirm that Afghanistan’s insurgent groups use informal financial systems to evade sanctions. Betting apps are one part of this growing puzzle.

Crime Diaries Insight: Why We Cover This

At Dark Crime Diaries, we go beyond sensational headlines. This series on cross-border crime digs into the hidden mechanisms that allow terror to thrive. Betting apps may look harmless, but when connected to global laundering networks, they become weapons of silent warfare.

This is the first part of our “Cross-Border Crime & Terror Financing” series. In this series, we will uncover how crime and conflict are connected. These connections occur through money, technology, and loopholes in regulation.

The Global Response – Too Little, Too Late?

While India has raised the alarm, the issue is global.

• FATF (Financial Action Task Force) has repeatedly warned Pakistan about terror financing.
• Yet, loopholes in cryptocurrency and offshore regulation remain wide open.
• Unless betting operators are brought under strict international monitoring, the nexus between gambling and terror will remain unbroken.

Conclusion: The Bet We Can’t Afford to Lose

What looks like a harmless cricket bet is just a drop in a much larger pool of terror financing. Every unregulated app, every untraceable transaction, and every loophole in digital finance strengthens extremist groups thousands of kilometers away.

The danger is real, growing, and dangerously under-reported. Betting apps aren’t just destroying families with addiction they’re destabilizing nations.

Governments must act decisively. Otherwise, the spin of a roulette wheel in India means a bullet in a conflict zone abroad.

Sources

• United Nations Security Council Report (2024) – Taliban Financing and Sanctions Evasion
• Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Reports on Pakistan and Terror Financing
• Indian Enforcement Directorate (ED) Cases (2020–2024) – Betting apps and hawala laundering
• Interpol Financial Crime Reports
• Reuters & Al Jazeera Investigations (2022–2024) on Taliban & LeT financing
• The Hindu / Indian Express coverage of betting app crackdowns in India
• The Hindu – How betting apps fund crime and terror
• Economic Times – Online betting, hawala and terror links
• South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP) – Terror Financing Methods
• Indian Express – Hawala, cyber fraud and terror funding