Former cricketer Shikhar Dhawan summoned by ED in illegal betting app case

Last month, former cricketer Suresh Raina was questioned by the agency in the same case. The agency is probing multiple cases involving illegal apps that are alleged to have duped several people

Former India cricketer Shikhar Dhawan has been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for questioning in a money laundering investigation linked to an illegal betting app, officials told news agency PTI on Thursday.

 

The probe agency will record Dhawan’s statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) as part of its investigation into the illegal betting app 1xBet.

 

Investigation targets multiple illegal betting platforms

 

The 39-year-old former Indian cricketer is believed to have been associated with the app through certain endorsements. The probe agency intends to examine his links with the platform during questioning. The agency is probing multiple cases involving illegal betting platforms accused of defrauding numerous people and investors of crores of rupees or evading substantial taxes. Last month, former cricketer Suresh Raina was questioned by the ED in the same case.

 

Former cricketers questioned

 

In June, the agency had questioned former Indian cricketers Harbhajan Singh and Yuvraj Singh, along with actors Sonu Sood and Urvashi Rautela, in connection with banned betting platforms such as 1xBet, FairPlay, Parimatch, and Lotus365. According to NDTV Profit, these platforms often present themselves as skill-based gaming apps but operate on luck-based outcomes using rigged algorithms.

 

ED officials were quoted as saying that these betting platforms were using surrogate names such as 1xbat and 1xbat sporting lines in their advertising campaigns, and that the ads frequently included QR codes redirecting users to betting sites, which they said blatantly violated Indian law.

 

Govt blocks illegal platforms

 

According to market analysts and probe agencies, around 220 million Indians use various online betting apps, with roughly half being regular users. Experts estimate the online betting app market in India at over $100 billion, growing at a rate of 30 per cent. Last month, the government informed Parliament that it had issued 1,524 orders from 2022 to June 2025 to block online betting and gambling platforms. The Centre recently banned real-money online gaming through new legislation.

 

(With inputs from PTI)