Vikas*, a wholesale vegetable dealer from Bareilly, came across an Instagram ad featuring Shah Rukh Khan promoting a Telegram channel of a match predictor named ‘Zain CBTF’.
The video seemingly of the Bollywood actor refers to Zain as the “god of betting prediction”, boasting about Zain's impressive streak of predicting winning IPL teams. The ad claims Zain had to flee to Nepal as “several bookies were after his life”, but still runs the Telegram channel helping people mint money out of betting.
Vikas took the bait and joined the Telegram channel. He placed a bet on an IPL match, following the channel's prediction, via a website promoted there. However, he ended up losing Rs 33,000, a significant portion of his already small savings.
It was much later that he found out from his friends that the ad featuring Shah Rukh Khan was doctored, and the actor had never endorsed Zain.
The ad, which lured Vikas into gambling was actually a deepfake video, a technology increasingly raising concerns for its potential to create deceptive or misleading content.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) has always been more than just a cricket tournament; it is a spectacle that blends sports, entertainment, and massive financial stakes. As the cricket series continued to capture the fervent enthusiasm of cricket fans across India, this year, the frenzy has been amplified not only by thrilling on-field performances but also by the growing presence of match predictors.
Individuals who label themselves as "tippers" or "match predictors", like Zain CBTF, aggressively promoted betting on IPL matches, and many of them even continue to do so for the ongoing T20 matches.
A particularly disturbing element of this trend is the use of AI-generated deepfake videos, featuring celebrities and well-known figures who seemingly endorse the services of these tippers.
Sourajeet Majumdar, an independent security researcher, found that multiple Telegram channels, each boasting hundreds of thousands of subscribers, have been leveraging AI to exploit the trust and money of cricket fans in this manner.
Majumdar told Decode, “One can also contact these tippers privately on WhatsApp for betting assistance for a fee (which is generally a certain percent of the profit). Additionally, you will find match predictions before every game, along with tips on placing bets based during the game (similar to spot fixing) on the same channels.”
The kind of betting they promote involves wagering of real money and indicates the presence of a flourishing match fixing market which is illegal, he added.
It is to be noted here that betting and gambling are prohibited in India under the Public Gambling Act of 1867. In May, the consumer affairs ministry called for action against indirect and surrogate advertisements promoting illegal betting and gambling, which increased during the cricket and election seasons.
These advertisements, as noted by the ministry, are in clear violation of the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) guidelines.
Decode had earlier reported many of the betting websites are not only still operating in India, despite the ban, but are also openly advertising their platforms on social media using influencers and paid promotion.
Even though most of these websites are said to be operated by offshore betting companies, Decode's investigation reveals almost all of them are using various Indian banks to accept payments.
Celebrity Deepfakes in IPL Betting Ads
In one of the advertisement shared by ‘Ikka Bhai Bombay’ on an Instagram story, deepfake of singer Sonu Nigam can be seen promoting the tipper, mouthing the lines, “Ikka Bhai Bombay has shaken down the entire bookie lobby with his spot on predictions. Join his Telegram channel and witness his impressive success rate.”
The original video, which has been altered to create a deepfake, is from the Beer Biceps podcast, where the singer was interviewed by host Ranveer Allahabadia.
Another tipper who goes by the name of ‘AllRounder’ used a deepfake video of cricketer Virendra Sehwag to advertise his services and his Telegram channel. In the video, Sehwag’s actual words are changed to, “With an accuracy of 95%, this tipper is truly an all rounder in the business of betting.”
The doctored clip can be traced back to Sehwag’s interview on a show, called What The Duck, hosted by Vikram Sathaye. Sehwag appeared on the show along with former teammate Anil Kumble.
Similarly, a deepfake of YouTuber-actor Bhuvan Bam to endorse ‘Tiger Meman’, seems especially convincing, making it difficult for the average viewer to distinguish between genuine endorsements and fabricated ones.
Urging those interested in betting, the deepfake video features Bam saying that Tiger has been doing this since 15 years and has an accuracy of 90%. “You will always be a step ahead if you follow his prediction.”
The original video of Bam’s interview with Sandeep Maheshwari has been doctored for this purpose.
Following the trend of using journalists and famous actors, tipper ‘Baazigar’ doctored the video of Aaj Tak anchor Sudhir Chaudhary in order to publicise his services. In the deepfake video, Chaudhary can be seen declaring Baazigar as creating a “world record” in coming up with accurate predictions four hours before the match.
How loopholes of social media platforms fuel betting
These individuals, who claim to predict match results before the games and aggressively advertise their services on Instagram, using ads and AI-generated videos of celebrities. They direct interested individuals to their Telegram channels.
While some of the Telegram channels mentioned above now cease to exist, others have multiple channels running in their name. Decode found that ‘Ikka Bhai Bombay’ had the most number of Telegram channels. While all these channels, which were over eight in number, have the same name and display pictures, we could not verify if they are run by the same person.
Similarly, ‘Tiger Meman’ has one channel and ‘Baazigar’ has over 3 channels, as of now.
The channels share predictions of IPL and T20 World Cup matches, endorses betting websites and also runs ads for crypto websites. Each tipper had over 3-4 Instagram accounts to their name, which promotes the affiliated Telegram channels.
While majority of the comments on their Instagram posts hail them for their accurate predictions, very few dissed them as ‘frauds’, pointing out they have incurred losses due to these tippers.
A report released in October 2023 by the Think Change Forum, an economics think tank, states that the estimated size of the online betting industry in India is Rs 8,20,000 crore, with 80%-90% attributed to gambling on cricket matches.
Reportedly, many individuals overwhelmed by betting losses, have resorted to crime or even taken their own lives. Despite such incidents and regulations in place, the betting platforms continue to flourish in the dark corners of the internet.
Speaking to Decode, gaming lawyer Nicki Tuli explained how these illegal websites may not have longevity but still are easy to run. She said, “The Internet is an open platform where anyone can purchase a domain name and operate a business. It is even easier than running an app. Although such activities may be illegal, those caught can easily resume operations by starting a new venture after some time.”
Tuli explained that the legality of gambling in India depends on the distinction between games of skill and games of chance. Games of skill, where players use their memory, knowledge, judgment, or expertise to make decisions, are constitutionally protected by a 1996 Supreme Court ruling.
“However, games of chance, where outcomes are based on luck, do not have this protection. In 2022, the Supreme Court ruled that fantasy sports are games of skill, but this protection does not extend to betting on live sports,” she said.
Tuli highlighted how loopholes in social media platforms' enforcement of their own policies contribute to the proliferation of such gambling activities. For instance, Instagram mandates that the creator/publisher must receive written permission from the platform to promote real money gambling.
It states, “Branded content posts must be targeted to users aged 18 or over and restricted to the jurisdiction for which permission has been granted.”
Decode reached out to Meta for a comment on the same. Their spokesperson said, "We remove content when we are made aware of it and when it violates our policies whether it was created by AI or a person. Advertisers running ads across Meta technologies must follow our Community Standards and our Advertising Standards. We use automated and, in some instances, manual review to enforce our policies.”
Decode has also covered how Telegram has become the new “dark web” for all kinds of illicit activities owing to the platform’s strong privacy features, like end-to-end encryption and self-destructing messages.
User onboarding can also be done using virtual or temporary numbers without further verification or KYC of the mobile number. Additionally, a single account can be used on multiple devices without restriction, reducing the risk of being tracked by authorities.
*Name has been changed