Team Goemkarponn
Panaji: Goa Police have busted 39 IPL cricket betting rackets over the last five years, with 13 cases registered in the first half of 2025 alone, Chief Minister and Home Minister Pramod Sawant said.
Sawant stated that eight cases were booked in 2020, three each in 2021 and 2022, five in 2023, and seven in 2024.
No high-level officer was found accepting bribes or protection money from accused persons, he clarified.
The CM rejected suggestions that Goa had become a safe haven for IPL betting, asserting that police act promptly on intelligence and maintain regular patrolling.
Action has also been taken against those renting villas, rooms, or hotels to betting rackets.
Sawant further said that “matka” gambling is officially closed in the State, with raids intensified after directives issued through the “Hello Goenkar” programme on Doordarshan-Panaji.
Meanwhile, 375 gambling cases were booked in the close vicinity of police stations during the last five years — including 81 in 2020, 50 in 2021, 69 in 2022, 66 in 2023, 82 in 2024, and 27 up to June 30 this year.
