NEW DELHI: Expanding its investigation into the illegal online betting apps case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has questioned and recorded statements of cricketers and celebrities including Harbhajan Singh, Suresh Raina and Urvashi Rautela, sources said on Wednesday. They said that the cricketers and celebrities were questioned as part of the ED’s ongoing investigation into promotion of banned online betting app platforms like 1xBet. The platforms, they said, were using ‘surrogate names’, such as 1xbat, in ad campaigns that include web links (for online material) and QR codes to redirect users to the original (and illegal) betting platform in blatant violation of current laws.Incidentally, it was , which first broke this on September 12, 2022 with a story titled ‘Ex-cricket World Cup stars endorse product linked to online betting company with dubious links’. The ED had earlier said these platforms presented themselves as hosting skill-based games but used rigged algorithms that classify them as ‘gambling operations’ under existing Indian laws. A preliminary inquiry by the ED suggested that multiple laws may have been violated, including the Information Technology (IT) Act, the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), and the stringent Prevention of Money Laundering Act PMLA), as well as government notifications, the sources said.A source in the ED said, “The online betting App platforms have gained massive visibility by partnering with celebrities and influencers—even in defiance of explicit government bans.” There has been no official statements from the celebrities and sportsmen.In March this year, an FIR was reportedly lodged in Hyderabad against 25 celebrities for promoting illegal betting platforms. The list includes actors and public figures such as Nidhi Agarwal, Vijay Deverakonda, Rana Daggubati, Prakash Raj, Manchu Lakshmi, and Praneetha.Experts are of the view that the illegal betting app business in India is worth over $100 billion and growing at 30 percent annually, despite the efforts of authorities to crack down on all such platforms. There are also an estimated 11 crore Indians, who use these apps daily, and financial frauds by the promoters have been linked to over 1,000 suicides, including by school students.
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