With the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 still capturing national interest, Indian banks are suffering-not from cricket fever, but from the increased illegal gambling.Financial institutions are monitoring dubious money movements even though fans cheer on boundaries and wicket. Estimates put the Indian wagering market at over $100 billion; the IPL has become a gambling magnet. Many of which employ cryptocurrency, so following is difficult: overseas users are betting on virtual platforms, not only for local bettors. Though India’s legal betting is still restricted, the black market thrives. 14 bookies were recently busted in Chhattisgarh, Assam, and West Bengal by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Still, government admit this only really scratches the surface.
UPI lets instant bettingThe simplicity of (Unified Payments Interface) transactions helps significantly to drive this trend. Users can send money promptly via this live payment platform, hence offering betters an advantage. UPI’s influence is skyrocketing as transactions run the gamut from $1 to $1 million. UPI, which banks are finding challenging to handle, is already dealing with over $3 trillion per year; IPL boosts activity further.
UPI Outages Interrupt Financial ServicesThe number of transactions have caused system overload. At least two significant UPI blackouts happened inside only 20 days of the 2025 season. During a Gujarat Titans vs Rajasthan Royals game, which GT lost by 58 runs, one such event occurred. The system went out for 95 minutes. Financial institutions have to quickly solve underlay issues in order to prevent future interruptions caused by increasing gambling.