Indian farmers streamed fake pro cricket matches to Russian bettors for two weeks

A real IPL game featuring the Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians, two of the teams the farmers attempted to impersonate. | Photo by Robert Cianflone / Getty Images

A group of Indian farmers set up a fake Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tournament so convincing that they managed to trick a Russian audience into making real bets. According to a report from the Times of India, the fake games took place on a farm in the village of Gujarat, with 21 farm laborers and unemployed teens who were each paid 400 rupees (~$5 USD) and tasked with impersonating “pro” cricket players from well-known Indian teams.

The farmers reportedly livestreamed the tournament to YouTube over the course of two weeks and even set up a Telegram channel dedicated to the games. That’s where they took bets from Russian gamblers located in Tver, Voronezh, and Moscow, despite the fact that the actual IPL’s 2022 season closed out...

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