Bollywood actor Urvashi Rautela has been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the ongoing probe into the 1xBet betting case. She is scheduled to appear before the agency’s Delhi office on September 16.
A day earlier, the ED had also called in Mimi Chakraborty, Trinamool Congress leader and former MP, for questioning.
Over the past few weeks, the agency has examined several high-profile figures, including former cricketers Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina, after reports linked the betting platform to celebrity endorsements.
The summons mark the latest turn in the ED’s widening investigation into 1xBet, as the government cracks down on real-money gaming platforms, which have been recently banned under new legislation.
1xBet has long attracted regulatory attention, with several countries banning its operations. In India too, the platform was officially banned in 2023, yet it continues to find ways to stay visible—through event sponsorships like the Mysore Derby, celebrity associations, and even ads on Uber cabs—skirting restrictions in practice.
What is the 1xBet case?
1xBet is a global online gambling operator that has long walked the grey zones of regulation. Founded in 2007 by Roman Semiokhin, Sergey Karshkov, and Dmitry Kazorin, the company holds a license in Curaçao and a registration in Cyprus—choices that allow it to offer betting services in multiple countries while avoiding close regulatory scrutiny.
India officially banned 1xBet, along with several other offshore betting apps, in 2023 under Section 69A of the IT Act, which empowers the government to block access to such platforms. Yet the ban has been more porous than effective. The brand has kept itself visible through online ads, celebrity endorsements, and even event sponsorships, often blurring the line between legal fantasy sports operators and outright gambling.
Despite being officially banned in India, access to 1xBet is rarely a challenge. The platform uses mirror sites, proxy domains, and Telegram channels to direct users to working links. Once inside, players can place bets on cricket, football, kabaddi, esports, and online casino-style games. Marketing has been central to its strategy—visible in celebrity endorsements, sports sponsorships, and even advertisements spotted on Uber cabs in India. While 1xBet’s promotions are highly visible, understanding exactly how money moves through the platform in India is challenging.
The net has already widened to include public personalities. Former cricketer players Shikhar Dhawan, Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina have been questioned, while actresses Urvashi Rautela and Mimi Chakraborty have now been summoned. The agency has made clear that it is not only chasing promoters and celebrity endorsers but also trying to trace the ecosystem around them: advertising agencies, shell companies, and middlemen who might have facilitated payments or promotions.
What ED wants to uncover
Since 1xBet is incorporated abroad and has no formal presence in India, the ED’s focus has been on mapping the platform’s local network. This involves identifying who promoted the brand within the country, tracing the flow of funds, and understanding how money moved across borders. The investigation also seeks to determine whether promoters were aware—or should have been aware—that they were advertising a service banned in India.
At the heart of the case are allegations that 1xBet operated illegally, laundered money, and evaded taxes. The agency is examining how the app maintained its visibility despite the official ban, relying on endorsements, surrogate advertisements, and sponsorships that lent it legitimacy. Officials have indicated that the structure and taxation of endorsement payments are under close scrutiny. The probe is being conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), with potential violations of the Information Technology Act, the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), and even older legislation like the Public Gambling Act of 1867 also being considered.
Another major objective is sizing up the market. ED officials and industry analysts estimate that more than 22 crore Indians use betting apps, nearly half of them as regular users. That figure places the illegal betting economy in the billions of dollars, making it one of the fastest-growing shadow markets in the country. For regulators, this scale is not just about lost revenue but also about the risks of fraud, addiction, and money laundering.
The legal and policy backdrop
Real-money betting remains illegal across most of India, except for narrow carve-outs like horse racing in certain states. At the national level, the government has blocked over 1,500 such sites since 2022 and introduced stricter rules to curb both operations and advertising. But the enforcement gap remains wide.
The ED’s case leans on three key laws: PMLA, to target money laundering; FEMA, to check cross-border financial flows; and the IT Act, to flag digital violations. Together, these create a legal pathway to hold Indian actors accountable even if the primary company operates offshore.
This case also highlights a broader policy puzzle: the uneasy distinction between “games of skill,” which are allowed, and “games of chance,” which fall under gambling bans. Offshore operators exploit this ambiguity, while aggressive marketing makes it difficult for users to tell legal and illegal platforms apart.
Adding to the backdrop is the government’s most recent law explicitly banning real-money online games involving wagering or betting. This move is aimed at curbing the rapid rise of offshore operators like 1xBet and protecting consumers from potential fraud and addiction. Yet, as the continued use of mirror sites, proxy domains, and celebrity-backed promotions shows, bans alone have struggled to fully stop these platforms from reaching players.
Whether the new law will actually stop these platforms from reaching players—or just drive them further underground—remains unclear. The said operation is part of the ED’s ongoing efforts to clamp down on illegal betting platforms, with authorities closely tracking the networks, intermediaries, and promoters that keep apps like 1xBet active in India despite earlier bans.
