Telangana: Mobile Game Betting Picks Up on Trains

 Hyderabad: Betting on mobile games, including games like Sudoku, is slowly picking up in trains on some routes, particularly towards Mumbai. With stringent checks on traditional betting games like Teen Patti or Rummy on trains by the Railway Protection Force, regular travelers have been slowly switching to online gaming platforms while commuting in trains.

Mobile games like Candy Crush, Clash of Clans, Sudoku and Ludo King are popular among train commuters and some of them are available offline, providing easy access to them. The gamers bet small sums of money on each game.

Railway rules don’t ban mobile gaming unless it’s specifically causing a disturbance. Moreover, given the high number of commuters, the railway police often prioritised security and safety concerns over monitoring casual gaming. So, the commuters are playing mobile betting games as a right.

Fareed, a native from Umri who shuffles regularly on the Mumbai-Hyderabad route, openly says that playing Sudoku is not banned on trains. He started playing with Rs 20, which gradually increased to Rs 50 and Rs 100 and finally reduced to Rs 20 till his other player emptied his pocket from Mirzapally station to Nizamabad junction in Devagiri express.

Fareed’s friend Ismail agrees with him. “These games are played to pass the time in a long journey and engage in casual betting. Two to four people can join the game simultaneously. In general, the culture of playing mobile games on trains is primarily for personal entertainment and it is not organised betting as each game takes not more than 15 to 20 minutes,” says Ismail. Games like Ludo King, Teen Patti and Sudoku are commonly played in trains and games like PUBG and Free Fire are also popular in these routes.