ED questions Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Urvashi Rautela among others in online betting scam: Reports
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has questioned former Indian cricketers Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh, and Suresh Raina with regards to an online betting scam. Alongside these cricketers, actors such as Sonu Sood and Urvashi Rautela have also been questioned.
They have been questioned in an ongoing probe into promotional links with banned betting platforms such as 1xBet, FairPlay, Parimatch and Lotus365, according to top ED officials, as per a report by NDTV Profit.
"These betting platforms are using surrogate names like 1xbat and 1xbat sporting lines in advertising campaigns. The ads often include QR codes that redirect users to betting sites—blatantly violating Indian law,” a top official was quoted as saying.
The report added that as per preliminary findings, these endorsements could breach several Indian laws which include Information Technology (IT) Act, the Foreign Exchange Management Act, the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, and the Benami Transactions Act.
“Some celebrities have already been issued notices, while others are likely to be issued soon,” the official also said.
These endorsements could also breach advisories issued by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
Media representatives for Harbhajan Singh and Suresh Raina decline to comment
With regards to the questioning, media representatives of former cricketers Harbhajan Singh and Suresh Raina have declined to comment on the same. Moreover, there have been no responses yet from Yuvraj Singh, Soonu Sood, and Urvashi Rautela, who were also requested to comment on the same.
As per the report, ED officials also stated that these platforms are promoted as skill-based games but often operate on luck-based outcomes.
“These platforms have gained massive visibility by partnering with celebrities and influencers—even in defiance of explicit government bans,” the official stated.
1xBet was pointed as one of the most aggressively promoted entities by the oficial. Upon investigation, it was also revealed that school children skip classes to bet, college students use tuition money to gamble and the financial damages are only discovered once crisis or losses occur.