Lack of a License, Yet One Lakh to Play, in Ritzy Gurgaon Casino

The laws that cover gambling in India are a bit particular. Most forms of gambling are actually illegal on a federal level. The Public Gambling Act of 1867 clearly states that the running or visiting a public gaming house is punishable by modest fines or prison terms.The states of Goa and Sikkim, however, allow casinos on their territories. However, despite these strict laws, people always find ways to beat the system, as is the case with the illegal gambling rig in upscale Gurgaon that was recently discovered by the police. 

The Times Of India: Police unearths illegal Casino in Gurgaon, 43 arrested

Police dismantled an illicit but thriving casino gambling racket, off the gambling blog radar, for the first time ever, in a high class residential colony of DLF phase 2, in Gurgaon. The raid took place between late Saturday night and the wee hours of Sunday morning.

The authorities have begun further investigations and a case under different sections of the IPC and Gambling Act has been registered against the detainees, an official spokesman confirmed on Sunday.
According to reliable sources, a resident of Gurgaon, Naresh Malhotra, was the leader of the gambling rig, renting the bungalow in the colony, and hiring five girls from Kathmandu, in Nepal, to act as card dealers.

In addition to the five girls who were expert casino machine handlers, there were a total of 15 men who were hired as front office men, cashiers and bouncers.

The building’s entrance was constantly under CCTV cameras surveillance, hidden in Malhotra’s office. Only the rich and influential patrons were allowed to enter.

The building housed a reception office on the first floor, a ritzy casino in the basement, and a foreign liquor-selling bar – all illegal. Card playing was also played in an empty piece of land next to building, police reports stated.

A cash counting machine was retrieved from the bungalow, which led police to believe that there was huge cash flow going on. Investigations are ongoing to learn more about how the illegal operations contacted clients, etc., an official source revealed.

NDTV: One Lakh to Play at Biggest Table at Busted Casino Near Delhi

An address kept secret among the influential men of Gurgaon and its surroundings, housed a prosperous illegal casino near Delhi, for a whole 30 thirty days before being busted by the cops. And all one needed to play at the big-stakes tables was a lakh, in real money.

The King Club casino, enticed an exclusive public from its den, in a high-class residential neighborhood of Gurgaon, on the other side of the Haryana border. In the raiding operation, over the weekend, by the local police, 43 people were taken into custody.

Among those arrested were five women who reportedly worked as card dealers in the casino. The casino consisted of a three-story house and a basement.

The police revealed that it found approximately $32, 000 in local cash. It was estimated that one hundred clients a day frequented the underground casino hub.

The King Club’s operator, a man named Naresh Malhotra confessed that he employed fifteen men who served as bouncers and who were told to always be on the lookout for cops.

During his police interrogation, Malhotra also said that no one was allowed to enter the house without his consent.

The raid took place after dawn and a senior police officer Deepak Saharan said that the five women, who were a part of the staff, were card dealers, hired from Kathmandu, in Nepal.

Security cameras, placed in Malhotra’s office, as well as outside, on the premises, were installed to warn of any presence that may disrupt the flourishing, illegal casino.

The police was tipped off by a resident, who remains anonymous, who said he became suspicious when ritzy cars streamed in every night on a piece of land next to where the bungalow-hidden casino stood.

NDTV: Casino busted in posh Gurgaon colony; 43 arrested

Late Saturday night, Gurgaon police busted an illegal casino operation. The operated encouraged illicit betting, among rich and influential patrons, as they played dice, cards and poker, in a house, in L-block of DLF City phase 2, in the city.

After the raid, a total of forty three people were apprehended. Among those arrested, were five women, all staff members, from Nepal. The casino had three floors, with 29 rooms and a basement.

An equivalent of $33,000 from the gambling den operation was seized during the raids. The case was registered at the DLF City Phase-2 police station, accusing the 43 detainees as breaching the gambling and excise acts, on Sunday morning.

The policemen carried out a search in the establishment which yielded a live ‘dice joint’ in full swing, on the ground floor. The 5.6 square meter house had its casino designed by a professional, from Nepal.

The house owner was a Mr. Rajender Yadav. Yadav rented it to one Mr. Naresh Malhotra. Malhotra dabbled in shares and stock market. He had been operating the illegal casino, in breach of the very stringent Indian gambling laws for over a month.

The hallways, akin to high stakes casinos of Nepal and Goa, and poker tables, were housed in the basement. Chic high rollers placed bets, using chips of various denominations ranging from 1000 to 25000.

Ramesh Pal of the ACP (DLF) said they were tipped off by a suspicious resident who said he thought there was a possibility that for the past 30 days a casino was being operated out of a neighboring rented house.

Malhotra had two partners and they were using the building as a guest house too for their patrons. They had hired five women from Kathmandu, Nepal, who had five years’ experience each, in working in casinos.

The entry fee was a mere $1.7 5 (1 lakh) and more than 100 patrons walked through those doors every day, police revealed. Pal also said that the businessman placed bets in Indian currency. When the police arrived on the scene, 6 people were placing bets and 2 staff members played the role of token dealers.

The vacant plot next to the building made it possible for cars to park there. The casino was opened between 10 at night and 5 in the morning. An illegal bar was being tended in the basement and the police confiscated 100 bottles of IMFL.

The police impounded tokens worth over $214,431. 10 Nepalese, in all, had been employed at the gambling den. The businessmen provided them with shelter, food and a salary, Pal continued.

One of the neighbors, Vinod Bansal said that as far as he knew, the building was being used as a guest house prior to recent renovations and a notable amount of people, coming and going. He did say however that there was never any loud music or other nuisances, even if there were cars all night and lots of women.

Deepak Saharan of the DCP (East), praised the police force for their efforts in catching the casino in full action. He proclaimed that although other illegal casinos have been raided in the past, it was never in such an upscale neighborhood. By late Sunday, all 43 persons had been released on bail, by the duty magistrate.

The laws that cover gambling in India are a bit particular. Most forms of gambling are actually illegal on a federal level. The Public Gambling Act of 1867 clearly states that the running or visiting a public gaming house is punishable by modest fines or prison terms.The states of Goa and Sikkim, however, allow casinos on their territories. However, despite these strict laws, people always find ways to beat the system, as is the case with the illegal gambling rig in upscale Gurgaon that was recently discovered by the police. 

The Times Of India: Police unearths illegal Casino in Gurgaon, 43 arrested

Police dismantled an illicit but thriving casino gambling racket, off the gambling blog radar, for the first time ever, in a high class residential colony of DLF phase 2, in Gurgaon. The raid took place between late Saturday night and the wee hours of Sunday morning.

The authorities have begun further investigations and a case under different sections of the IPC and Gambling Act has been registered against the detainees, an official spokesman confirmed on Sunday.
According to reliable sources, a resident of Gurgaon, Naresh Malhotra, was the leader of the gambling rig, renting the bungalow in the colony, and hiring five girls from Kathmandu, in Nepal, to act as card dealers.

In addition to the five girls who were expert casino machine handlers, there were a total of 15 men who were hired as front office men, cashiers and bouncers.

The building’s entrance was constantly under CCTV cameras surveillance, hidden in Malhotra’s office. Only the rich and influential patrons were allowed to enter.

The building housed a reception office on the first floor, a ritzy casino in the basement, and a foreign liquor-selling bar – all illegal. Card playing was also played in an empty piece of land next to building, police reports stated.

A cash counting machine was retrieved from the bungalow, which led police to believe that there was huge cash flow going on. Investigations are ongoing to learn more about how the illegal operations contacted clients, etc., an official source revealed.

NDTV: One Lakh to Play at Biggest Table at Busted Casino Near Delhi

An address kept secret among the influential men of Gurgaon and its surroundings, housed a prosperous illegal casino near Delhi, for a whole 30 thirty days before being busted by the cops. And all one needed to play at the big-stakes tables was a lakh, in real money.

The King Club casino, enticed an exclusive public from its den, in a high-class residential neighborhood of Gurgaon, on the other side of the Haryana border. In the raiding operation, over the weekend, by the local police, 43 people were taken into custody.

Among those arrested were five women who reportedly worked as card dealers in the casino. The casino consisted of a three-story house and a basement.

The police revealed that it found approximately $32, 000 in local cash. It was estimated that one hundred clients a day frequented the underground casino hub.

The King Club’s operator, a man named Naresh Malhotra confessed that he employed fifteen men who served as bouncers and who were told to always be on the lookout for cops.

During his police interrogation, Malhotra also said that no one was allowed to enter the house without his consent.

The raid took place after dawn and a senior police officer Deepak Saharan said that the five women, who were a part of the staff, were card dealers, hired from Kathmandu, in Nepal.

Security cameras, placed in Malhotra’s office, as well as outside, on the premises, were installed to warn of any presence that may disrupt the flourishing, illegal casino.

The police was tipped off by a resident, who remains anonymous, who said he became suspicious when ritzy cars streamed in every night on a piece of land next to where the bungalow-hidden casino stood.

NDTV: Casino busted in posh Gurgaon colony; 43 arrested

Late Saturday night, Gurgaon police busted an illegal casino operation. The operated encouraged illicit betting, among rich and influential patrons, as they played dice, cards and poker, in a house, in L-block of DLF City phase 2, in the city.

After the raid, a total of forty three people were apprehended. Among those arrested, were five women, all staff members, from Nepal. The casino had three floors, with 29 rooms and a basement.

An equivalent of $33,000 from the gambling den operation was seized during the raids. The case was registered at the DLF City Phase-2 police station, accusing the 43 detainees as breaching the gambling and excise acts, on Sunday morning.

The policemen carried out a search in the establishment which yielded a live ‘dice joint’ in full swing, on the ground floor. The 5.6 square meter house had its casino designed by a professional, from Nepal.

The house owner was a Mr. Rajender Yadav. Yadav rented it to one Mr. Naresh Malhotra. Malhotra dabbled in shares and stock market. He had been operating the illegal casino, in breach of the very stringent Indian gambling laws for over a month.

The hallways, akin to high stakes casinos of Nepal and Goa, and poker tables, were housed in the basement. Chic high rollers placed bets, using chips of various denominations ranging from 1000 to 25000.

Ramesh Pal of the ACP (DLF) said they were tipped off by a suspicious resident who said he thought there was a possibility that for the past 30 days a casino was being operated out of a neighboring rented house.

Malhotra had two partners and they were using the building as a guest house too for their patrons. They had hired five women from Kathmandu, Nepal, who had five years’ experience each, in working in casinos.

The entry fee was a mere $1.7 5 (1 lakh) and more than 100 patrons walked through those doors every day, police revealed. Pal also said that the businessman placed bets in Indian currency. When the police arrived on the scene, 6 people were placing bets and 2 staff members played the role of token dealers.

The vacant plot next to the building made it possible for cars to park there. The casino was opened between 10 at night and 5 in the morning. An illegal bar was being tended in the basement and the police confiscated 100 bottles of IMFL.

The police impounded tokens worth over $214,431. 10 Nepalese, in all, had been employed at the gambling den. The businessmen provided them with shelter, food and a salary, Pal continued.

One of the neighbors, Vinod Bansal said that as far as he knew, the building was being used as a guest house prior to recent renovations and a notable amount of people, coming and going. He did say however that there was never any loud music or other nuisances, even if there were cars all night and lots of women.

Deepak Saharan of the DCP (East), praised the police force for their efforts in catching the casino in full action. He proclaimed that although other illegal casinos have been raided in the past, it was never in such an upscale neighborhood. By late Sunday, all 43 persons had been released on bail, by the duty magistrate.