New Delhi: Widening its probe into an alleged illegal online betting linked money laundering case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned cricketers Robin Uthappa and Yuvraj Singh, and actor Sonu Sood for questioning, officials said Tuesday.
Uthappa (39), Singh (43), and Sood (52) have been asked to depose beginning next week at the agency’s headquarters investigation unit in Delhi and get their statements recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in a case linked to a platform named 1xBet, the officials said.
While Uthappa has been asked to depose on September 22, Singh has been called on September 23 followed by Sood on September 24, they said.
They join two other ex-cricketers, Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina, as well as actor Urvashi Rautela and Trinamool MP Mimi Chakraborty, in being questioned by the ED as it investigates money-laundering and tax evasion by the 1xBet app, which advertised frequently during live screening of cricket matches.
In fact, the ED is investigating multiple betting platforms and the role of celebrities in promoting, consciously or otherwise, schemes the government said have defrauded users and investors of crores.
Ms Rautela, reportedly 1xBet’s ‘India ambassador’, is scheduled to appear today, i.e., Tuesday, as is Bengali actor Ankush Hazra. On Monday the agency recorded Ms Chakraborty’s statement.
Last week, Dhawan was questioned for over eight hours at the ED’s Delhi office and left only after his statement was recorded under the stringent Prevention of Money Laundering Act, or PMLA.
In early August Mr Raina was also questioned.
The ED asked the former cricketer about his role in the promotion of 1xBet and the details of monetary transactions, including any fees he was paid or charged.
And in June, another former cricketer, Harbhajan Singh, was also questioned.
The ED’s inquiry is part of a wider network of investigations into various betting platforms – like Junglee Rummy, JeetWin, and Lotus365 – and the celebrities who have endorsed them, including popular actors Rana Daggubati, Prakash Raj, and Lakshmi Manchu, all of whom have since appeared for questioning.
Sources said a common thread in questions to celebrities is if they knew, or had been made aware, that betting apps like 1xBet – frequently re-labelled to avoid being shut down – are illegal under Indian law.
In 2023, in fact, the government, via the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, issued advisories to that effect; the media and online publishers and aggregators were told not to advertise such apps or sites.
The 1xBet Case
The argument is that platforms like 1xBet and its avatars – 1xBat, for example – claim to host skill-based games, but use rigged algorithms that make them a gambling enterprise under existing Indian laws.
Investigations so far have also indicated multiple laws have been broken, including the Information Technology (IT) Act, the Foreign Exchange Management Act, and the PMLA. Media outlets are also under scrutiny; in June, sources said a sum exceeding Rs 50 crore was paid for advertising campaigns.
The government’s 2023 advisory banned 1xBet and other offshore betting apps. Under Section 69A of the IT Act, access to these was barred within India. However, that access has rarely been a problem, thanks to workarounds like encrypted messaging apps and VPN, or virtual private network, services.
And advertising involving high-profile celebrities ensured 1xBet retained top-of-mind recall.
The app also frequently changed names to stay ahead of the authorities. Should suspicion fall on one, for example, that is shut down and a new one, with marginally different branding, is launched.
And the owner/operators of these platforms are routinely based abroad, making it difficult for Indian law enforcement, whether the ED or the Central Bureau of Investigation, to catch them.
They often set up base in countries with lax gambling laws or where gambling is legal.
Social Media on the Net Too
It isn’t just actors and ex-cricketers who are being grilled.
Facebook and Instagram owner Meta and Google are also being scrutinised over their role in promoting betting apps on their platforms. In July, ED officials recorded statements by an Indian representative of Google. Nobody from Meta appeared, but sources said the company is cooperating.
Some of the questions the agency is now asking are:
- Did companies like Google and Meta deliberately promote betting apps?
- Did these platforms profit from advertisements?
