A horrifying scenario of online casino business in the country has emerged after the arrest of online casino mogul of the country, Salim Prodhan. A large number of youths including students fell prey to the online casino traps, losing their money and valuable properties, said sources. Intelligence sources said most of the online gamblers are students. Many are getting addicted to gambling and losing all their possessions. There are 15 more online casino rings like Salim’s working as local online casino dealers.
Investigators also found that about 150 websites altogether run the online casino business in the country. Cyber experts say that online betting and gambling is helping criminals smuggle money abroad and is threatening cyber security as well. After Salim’s capture on Monday, the government’s ‘Cyber Threat Detection and Response’ team shut down 67 such gambling sites operated from inside the country.
Notable, more than 2500 gambling sites were shut down earlier by the response team, but Salim’s casino businesses proved that the casino trade had been running successfully underground. Minister of Posts and Telecommunications Mostafa Jabbar Wednesday also acknowledged the matter, saying, “The online crime scene is huge. In comparison, our observation capabilities are still insufficient. But we are trying to catch up.’
The minister said, “The regular monitoring of online gambling sites helped law enforcement agencies identify Salim Prodhan. His position was confirmed by mobile tracking. After he was arrested, we have identified many gamblers and we will be taking action accordingly.” RAB investigators said online gambling is taking place from five countries on registered betting sites. The bets are placed through credit cards at banks and smart mobile phones from dealers by buying mobile banking chips or coins. The betting takes place on various sports, including football and cricket that take place on live television.
Most of the gamblers are students or young people. Many are getting addicted to gambling and losing all their money. There are 15 more online casino rings like Salim’s working as local online casino dealers. They also found that they were using 150 websites. Cyber experts say that online betting and gambling is helping criminals smuggle money abroad and is threatening cyber security as well.
Sources say gamblers first have to register on online sites for gambling. Credit cards have to be used to participate in gambling. Agents are in control of these gambling sites in the country. In many cases, money is paid through mobile apps. In order to use Salim’s T-20 and P-24, users had to download mobile phone apps.
The chips or gambling coins are purchased from dealers. Many gamblers sell chips by opening pages on Facebook. RAB has found 15 agents selling such chips. In total 150 site gateways were found. Investigators said that apart from North Korea's Do, information was found about foreigners, who market online casino businesses in the country.
About the project and various crimes based online, Mostafa Jabbar said, ‘We maintain a zero tolerance policy on porn and gambling. But the magnitude of the crime is huge. Even if we close down porn and gambling sites, thousands of alternative sites will be created. But we are trying to combat this.’ Sources said that the 67 new gambling sites that were shut down after Salim’s arrest were all casino-based. The word casino was added to the web address of the sites. Online gambling is also taking place through a cash server.
Meanwhile, RAB filed two cases at the Gulshan police station in the capital, accusing Salim Prodhan and his associates. One case has been filed under Money Laundering Act and the other under Drug Law. Eight people, including Salim, have been charged in the money laundering case, including three from North Korea. Police have filed a seven-day remand in a drug lawsuit case.
The others accused in the money laundering lawsuit are Salim’s personal assistant Roman, Shimanto Roni, Shanto, Akhteruzzaman, North Korean citizen Tu, Lee and Lim. Roman and Akhtaruzzaman have been charged in connection with the drug case.
