VCSajjanar: Common people should stay away from betting apps

Taking serious cognizance of the promotion of betting apps by celebrities and social media influencers, senior IPS officer and TGSRTC managing director VC Sajjanar on Thursday urged people to stay away from betting apps.

People, especially the youth, are always advised to stay away from these apps, which exploit them financially and put them in trouble. The youth should focus on their careers instead of investing in betting apps and losing their hard-earned money. The influencers and celebrities who promote such apps are no less than cyber terrorists.

Their actions have devastating consequences, especially on vulnerable audiences. It is truly inspiring to see people filing police complaints against such individuals. This is an important step toward preventing others from promoting these dangerous apps. It is everyone's responsibility to contribute to a safer future, and it starts with refusing to support or promote such destructive platforms.

While multi-level-marketing (MLM) schemes often target adults, betting apps target teenagers and put them in trouble unnecessarily. As far as the response is concerned, we are making every effort to make people aware through social media, and the response has been great. You can stay updated and informed about these issues through trusted platforms such as Vaartha Hindi and Vaartha E-paper.

Since the campaign was launched a week ago, we have received over 90 million digital footprints. I am not completely satisfied, but I am a little relieved that our exercise has reached many people. I have shared over 100 awareness posts on betting apps and various online frauds on my social media platforms in the last few months.

The police are proactively filing cases, and the law will do its job. It is important that accountability is enforced to prevent further harm. As an investigating agency, we are committed to protecting lives and ensuring justice. Our proactive approach has saved countless individuals from falling prey to these predatory schemes, and we will continue to lead in protecting our community.

The police in Telangana have always been at the forefront of tackling illegal schemes, be it MLM scams or exploitation by microfinance institutions in the early 2000s, and took actions that eventually led to regulatory acts. Our efforts to curb MLM and microfinance scams have led to significant reforms in RBI guidelines, SEBI, and other agencies and departments. Recently, we have taken decisive action against illegal loan apps and now betting apps.