Thane Police Crime Branch arrested five people after raiding a flat in Dombivli during an India–New Zealand T20 match, according to a report published on October 28, 2026. Police allege that bets were being facilitated from the flat in Lodha Heaven, and said the action followed a targeted operation by Crime Branch Unit-3.
The people involved are entitled to due process and the allegations have not been finally decided in court. The immediate user lesson is narrower: a live-match betting pitch, a “sure shot” message or a fast-moving payment link is not the same as a verified gaming product.
What the Dombivli report says
Mirror Now reported that the raid took place during the T20 game and that police said the five accused were caught facilitating bets. The report identifies the location as a residential flat, not an authorised sporting venue or a recognised game publisher’s channel.
Cricket interest can make these operations look urgent and routine: a message may ask for money before the next over, offer a temporary account, or direct a user to an app with no reliable publisher information. Those pressures make it harder to pause and check who is actually receiving a payment.
How this differs from ordinary cricket games
A free cricket game, a social prediction feature and an online money game are not interchangeable categories. The central 2026 framework prohibits online money games and separately provides a framework for e-sports and online social games. See our guide to India’s online gaming rules before relying on an old app listing or social-media claim.
For players looking for a cricket game rather than a cash-bet link, our report on the eCricket closed beta in India is a useful example of checking an identified publisher and official product information first.
Checks before opening a cricket-app link
- Confirm the publisher through its own verified site or an official app-store listing.
- Do not pay a personal UPI address to receive a login, betting ID or alleged withdrawal.
- Reject requests to lend a bank account, SIM, card or QR code for a commission.
- Save records and use the official cybercrime channel if money or account access has been taken.
Our Thane mule-account case guide explains why bank-account and QR-code requests deserve particular caution. It is also worth comparing this with the recent Surat cricket betting report, where match interest was similarly used in an alleged betting operation.
Sources: Mirror Now’s October 28 report, the MeitY/PIB notice on the 2026 rules, and India’s National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal.
