The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has expanded its investigation into illegal online betting platforms to include promotional ties with prominent public figures, including cricketers Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina, and actors Urvashi Rautela and Sonu Sood. The agency is probing allegations that these celebrities endorsed surrogate entities for banned platforms like 1xBet.
According to sources familiar with the investigation, these personalities were questioned over advertisements linked to surrogate platforms such as “1xbet”, which allegedly redirected users via web links and QR codes to the original 1xBet site, banned under Indian law. These actions, officials said, are in clear violation of existing legal provisions. The ED claims that while the platforms presented themselves as hosts for skill-based games, forensic analysis revealed rigged algorithms that classify them as gambling operations under Indian statutes.
The agency has indicated that the promotional campaigns, featuring celebrities such as Yuvraj Singh and others, gave these platforms “massive visibility” and contributed to financial fraud targeting unsuspecting users. A preliminary investigation suggests violations under the Information Technology Act, Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), and various government directives on gambling and digital advertising. Representatives for Harbhajan Singh and Suresh Raina declined to comment, while Urvashi Rautela and actor Sonu Sood’s teams have not responded to inquiries.
Media organisations are also under scrutiny, with the ED estimating that over Rs 50 crore was spent on advertising across various channels to promote these surrogate platforms. This crackdown is part of a wider effort to curb illegal betting operations. In May, Telangana Police filed cases against 25 actors, including Rana Daggubati and Prakash Raj, for their past associations with such platforms. The complainant in that case warned that the scale of fraud involved has financially devastated thousands of middle- and lower-income families.
