© 2025 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Fake cricket league dupes some online bettors

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

The sport of cricket is a pretty big deal in India.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED ANNOUNCER: (Non-English language spoken).

SHAPIRO: Well, now four men trying to cash in on the sport's popularity have been arrested. Indian police are accusing these men of staging fixed professional cricket matches in order to dupe bettors in Russia.

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

OK, so here's how it worked, according to the authorities. The gang leased a dusty plot of land in western India and hired a few dozen local farmworkers to pose as athletes and umpires. They even teed up a bogus announcer to deliver play-by-play commentary and piped in fake crowd noise.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: (Chanting in non-English language).

SHAPIRO: That boisterous crowd you hear was nowhere to be seen because the gang's cameras stayed fixed on the cricket pitch as those farmworkers we mention, now in uniform, shuffled about. The gang streamed the fixed matches on YouTube and took bets through Telegram, mostly from unsuspecting Russian gamblers.

CHANG: And if you're wondering how anyone could be fooled by all of this, well, one YouTube commenter has since said, quote, "this is a remarkable re-enactment of a cricket game." And the tournament, I mean, it did reach quarterfinals before local police caught on.

SHAPIRO: There was one small detail that might have tipped off diehard fans of Indian cricket. Officials say the elaborate scam started three weeks after the real Indian Premier League action ended. So anyone paying a bit more attention to the game could have spotted the ruse. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

Gus Contreras
[Copyright 2024 NPR]
Christopher Intagliata is an editor at All Things Considered, where he writes news and edits interviews with politicians, musicians, restaurant owners, scientists and many of the other voices heard on the air.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.