The Indian government has blocked 581 applications, including 174 betting and gambling app, Pankaj Chaudhury, the minister of state for finance, told the parliament on Monday. Behind the colourful interfaces, dopamine-triggering sound effects, and promises of easy money lies a carefully engineered system designed to keep players betting until they lose all. Accessing illegal offshore betting platforms continues to be easy for Indian users. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has issued a warning about frauds via gaming apps, urging caution when engaging in online gaming. But getting money out of them isn’t quite as easy.

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An ET investigation found accessing Allpaanel App betting websites to be child’s play, without even the need of a VPN.