The Telangana Government has decided to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe illegal online games and betting apps and will take tough action against those who abetted  the crime and those who make money.

Referring to the incidents of people losing heavily in online games and betting and some of them committing suicides, Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy said that the Government would bring in a special law in the next session of the Assembly to award tough punishments for promoting and making money from online games and betting apps.

Addressing the Assembly on Wednesday, he said the police recently booked cases against those promoting online games and betting apps. “But this is not something that can be handled at a police station or by taking action against a few. This an inter-State and even international issue and has to be dealt at a much bigger scale,” he said.

“To take stringent action against those abetting the crime, we have decided to rope in CB-CID (Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department) or establishing a SIT,” he said.

Stating that the erstwhile Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) Government had introduced a law in 2017 banning online gaming and betting apps, he alleged that it had not implemented it. “It (the crime) proliferated recently and the government has begun a serious action against the criminals,” he said.

“The law provided for a jail term of only two years. This is not enough to deter people from committing the crime. There is a need to increase the quantum of punishments so that it acts as a deterrent. We will introduce amendments in the next session,” he said.

The police booked two cases in the last few days against a few film actors, including Daggubati Rana, Vijay Devarakonda and Prakash Raju, and social media influencers for promoting online games and betting apps.