Page 2 - Betting

Nazara may write down PokerBaazi stake amid looming online betting ban

Nazara Technologies Ltd's investment in PokerBaazi stands to be written down or provisioned for now, Chief Executive Officer Nitish Mittersain said on Thursday

Govt should have considered forward-looking options for money games

Predictably, the move has sent the online gaming industry into a tizzy. As reports suggest, there are thousands of high-skill jobs at stake

Online Gaming Bill: Lok Sabha passes legislation to ban online money games

The Bill was passed by a voice vote after brief remarks by Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw, amid protests from Opposition lawmakers

Explainer: Online real money games and why govt is seeking to ban them

If passed, the online gaming bill could shut down the RMG industry, which employs 200,000 people and contributes ₹20,000 crore in GST annually

Supreme Court agrees to hear plea seeking to ban illegal betting apps

The Supreme Court agrees to hear a PIL seeking a ban on illegal betting and online real-money gaming apps, with a focus on protecting Indian youth and enforcing regulatory measures

Prakash Raj appears before ED in Hyderabad in online betting probe

Actor Prakash Raj on Wednesday appeared before the ED officials here for questioning in a money laundering case linked to illegal online betting and gambling by certain platforms. The actor, popular in Telugu, Kannada and other South Indian films, appeared before officials of the probe agency at its zonal office here. Raj, who was questioned for about four hours, said he did the assignment with the apps in 2016, but did not take any money for it on moral grounds. He also said he had discontinued promoting the apps. "I gave them information that I had not received any money (for the promotion). Because I did not want to take any money for that. They (ED officials) have taken all the details," he told reporters. Asked if the investigation is politically motivated, he replied in the negative. "Officers are doing their job. As a citizen, I am supposed to cooperate and answer their questions. There is no witch-hunting or political motivation in this," he said. Raj added that he has no

Betting app case: ED summons Rana Daggubati, Vijay Deverakonda & others

ED has summoned Rana Daggubati, Vijay Deverakonda, and Prakash Raj in a money laundering probe linked to illegal betting app promotions. The case involves 29 actors, influencers, and YouTubers

Meta, Google skip ED summons in betting probe, called again on Jul 28

Executives of tech giants Meta and Google did not depose before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) as scheduled on Monday and have now been given fresh summons for July 28 in a money laundering case linked to promotion of "illegal" online betting and gambling platforms, official sources said. It is understood that the representatives of the two companies sought deferment of the July 21 summons, saying they need time to collect relevant information and documents before they present themselves for questioning and recording of their statements at the federal probe agency. Sources said the executives have been given a one-week extension and asked to depose on July 28. Once they depose, their statements will be recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the sources said. There was no immediate response from the two companies. The federal agency is probing multiple platforms hosting illegal betting and gambling links, including instances of advertisements placed for the

ED summons Google, Meta on July 21 over ads linked to betting apps

The agency is examining the role of digital platforms in enabling the promotion of these illegal apps, which are under scrutiny for potential violations of the PMLA

ED raids Haryana firm linked to illegal betting, freezes ₹284 crore assets

ED has frozen ₹284 crore worth of deposits and shares of Haryana-based Probo Media Technologies in a money laundering probe linked to illegal online betting and gambling through its app and website

Probo betting app raided by ED, Rs 284 cr frozen: What users must know

ED investigation revealed that the app/ websites defrauds its users by initially promoting a deceptive image of a legitimate skill-based platform, only to ultimately exploit them

ED probes 29 actors, influencers under PMLA for promoting betting apps

Actors Vijay Deverakonda, Rana Daggubati, Prakash Raj reportedly endorsed or appeared in promotional material for apps such as Junglee Rummy, JeetWin, and Lotus365, which violates betting regulations

'Baseline central norms for gaming will enable uniformity in compliance'

Creating a uniform set of rules for gaming will help domestic players and weed out unscrupulous offshore operators, says Sumanta Dey, VP at Head Digital Works which runs A23 Rummy and A23 Poker

ED questions Yuvraj Singh, Urvashi Rautela in endorsements of betting apps

ED has reportedly said that these platforms often promote themselves as skill-based gaming platform but operate on luck-based outcomes

Allahabad HC urges UP govt to form panel on online gaming, betting laws

The Allahabad High Court has directed the Uttar Pradesh government to constitute a high-powered committee to examine whether there was a need to regulate online gaming and betting. Justice Vinod Diwaker's direction came after he observed that the existing Public Gambling Act, 1867 was a colonial-era law that addresses only conventional forms of gambling like card games. The court said the panel would be headed by Professor K V Raju, the economic advisor to the Uttar Pradesh government and may include the principal secretary (state tax) as member secretary besides other experts as members. The direction came after two persons, including one Imran Khan, sought quashing of gambling charges and criminal proceedings. The duo was accused of running an online betting racket from home and earning crores of rupees leading the locals in Agra to gamble away their earnings. The court observed a law must be enacted to meet the transformative changes in online betting and gaming and took a suo-

India hub for illegal online betting, sites got 5 bn visits in FY25: Report

The annual deposits in these illegal platforms is estimated to the tune of $100 billion, says the CUTS International report

People betting, gambling in name of IPL via online apps: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Friday said people were betting and gambling in the garb of Indian Premier League and sought the Centre's response on a PIL seeking to regulate betting applications. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh issued notice to the Centre on a plea filed by K A Paul, who claimed many children had died suicide after using online betting and gambling applications. The petitioner alleged several online influencers, actors and cricketers were promoting such online apps, luring children in the process. Paul said in case of cigarettes, packs had pictures indicating the ill-effects of smoking, but in case of betting apps, no such caution was publicised and even former Indian team cricketers promoted the applications during the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL). The bench said, "In the name of IPL, a lot of people are betting and indulging in gambling. This is a serious issue." Paul claimed of representing "millions of parents" whose children have died in the

SC seeks Centre's response on PIL seeking to regulate online betting apps

The Supreme Court on Friday sought the Centre's response on a PIL seeking to regulate all online and offline betting applications. A bench of justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh issued the notice on a plea filed by K A Paul, who claimed that many children committed suicide after getting involved in online betting and gambling applications. The petitioner also alleged that a lot of online influencers, actors and cricketers were promoting these online apps due to which children were getting lured to betting. Paul, who appeared in person in the court, said, "I am here on behalf of millions of parents whose children have died in the past couple of years. More than 1,023 people committed suicide in Telangana, as 25 Bollywood and Tollywood actors/influencers played with the lives of the innocents." He also claimed that an FIR was lodged in Telangana against the influencers, as the matter violated fundamental rights. The bench said it cannot do much as these were aberrations of soci

'Youth at risk': SC issues notice to Centre on plea to ban betting apps

The Supreme Court asked the Union government to respond to a plea raising alarm over betting-related addiction, suicides and celebrity endorsements of gambling platforms

EaseMyTrip denies allegations against founder Pitti in Mahadev betting case

Travel booking platform EaseMyTrip on Wednesday denied allegations against its founder and chairman Nishant Pitti in the Mahadev app betting case, terming the claims "entirely baseless, misleading, and devoid of factual merit". Pitti has reportedly been accused of colluding with a network of operators who allegedly used proceeds from the illegal betting operation to manipulate the stock prices of 25 listed companies, purportedly in connivance with their promoters. The Enforcement Directorate in April searched the premises of Pitti as part of fresh multi-state raids in the Mahadev online betting app-linked money laundering case. The raids covered 55 locations including Delhi, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Indore, Jaipur, Chennai and Sambalpur in Odisha. "We categorically and unequivocally deny the allegations reported in connection with our Founder and Chairman, Nishant Pitti, concerning the so-called Mahadev app betting case. These claims are entirely baseless, misleading, and dev