Former Team India cricketer Shikhar Dhawan on Thursday was summoned by the Enforcement Directorate for questioning in an alleged illegal betting app-linked money laundering case, official sources said. The probe relates to 1xBet, an online betting platform, which Dhawan has allegedly been promoting on social media. Dhawan's statement will be recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) as part of the investigation
According to PTI report, the source said, "The federal probe agency will record his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) as part of this investigation linked to an "illegal" betting app named 1xBet". Dhawan announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on August 24, 2024.
The Union government has banned real-money online gaming by bringing a legislation recently. Earlier, Suresh Raina was summoned by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with an illegal betting platform. According to report, ED suspected that Raina has alleged links to the app through certain endorsements, and now the officials are expected to understand that during the questioning.
The ED is looking into celebrities who endorsed these apps, including Dhawan and Raina, to clarify their financial transactions and awareness of the platforms' activities.
This investigation is one of several probing against illegal betting platforms. Last month, ED had also conducted multi-state searches in connection with a similar investigation against an online betting app named Parimatch.
The agency is probing multiple such cases involving illegal betting apps that are alleged to have duped numerous people and investors worth crores of rupees or have evaded a huge amount of taxes.
Market research agencies and investigative bodies estimate that nearly 22 crore Indians use different online betting applications, with around half of them (approximately 11 crore) being frequent users. Experts assess the value of India's online betting market at over USD 100 billion, noting an annual growth rate of 30 per cent.
Additionally, the government informed Parliament that between 2022 and June 2025, it had issued 1,524 directives to block online betting and gambling platforms.
(with ANI inputs)
