Why betting sites should worry as ED raids payment firms over Chinese loan apps

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Synopsis
Many payment gateways wittingly or unwittingly help move money out of the country. They keep adding merchants to a single merchant identification code (MID) so that it escapes their partner bank’s scrutiny. There are many betting apps that also use fraudulent MIDs and multiple payment options to hoodwink Indian banks.

Even as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided the offices of payment gateway companies Razorpay, Cashfree, and Paytm last week in the Chinese loan app case, there was another set of smart players going about their business unrestrained. Gambling and betting sites based outside India, such as Betway.com and bet365.com, were seen using all kinds of Indian payment methods including UPI as on September 6 morning to facilitate betting and gambling

( Originally published on Sep 07, 2022 )