Mahadev app betting case: Despite ED crackdown, apps still taking bets

Despite the Enforcement Directoratersquos extensive crackdown on illegal apps associated with the Mahadev Online Book betting app such softwaremdashwhich is endorsed by celebritiesmdashcontinues to be functional Even on Sunday some of these apps accepted bets for the IndiaAustralia World Cup match as midday found outAccording to the ED the operations of more than 60 apps are being overseen by the promoters of the Mahadev app Saurabh Chandrakar and Ravi Utpal The ED in its remand application has explicitly stated that Chandrakar Utpal and their associates Kapil Chellani and Satish Kumar reside in Dubai and are known to oversee around 60 illegal offshore gambling websites including Lotus365 FairPlay Reddy Anna Laser Book Tiger Exchange BetBook247 and Gold36SFugitive racketeerThe ED has also revealed that aside from managing numerous offshore websites Chandrakar has been operating as a fugitive exploiting legal loopholes to conduct operations from abroadUrvashi Rautela Kajal Aggarwal and Sunny Leone are seen in the Laser Book apprsquos promotional material The reporterrsquos exchange with Lotus365 executiveDuring an investigation a midday reporter contacted the Lotus365 apprsquos WhatsApp number and received login ID and password information for a fee of Rs 100 The operator also promised a 400 per cent bonus after an initial deposit of a minimum of Rs 500 to a maximum of Rs 20000 along with a five per cent bonus on every subsequent refillWhen the reporter raised concerns about the legality of betting the Lotus365 apprsquos executive claimed it was not illegal and even sent an audio message with details regarding making payments stating ldquoAlways ask for new account number Donrsquot repeat payment in any of recent account without our confirmation otherwise we are not responsible for any kind of problem sicrdquoSeveral celebs involvedFurther midday noted that various celebritiesrsquo photographs are being used to promote illegal betting sites such as Nawazuddin Siddiqui Tamannaah Bhatia Sunil Shetty Neha Sharma Raftaar and Adah Sharma It remains unclear whether these celebrities are being compensated for endorsing the app or if their images are being used without their knowledgeRecently the ED summoned celebrities such as Ranbir Kapoor Shraddha Kapoor Kapil Sharma Huma Qureshi and Hina Khan for promoting the Mahadev app and receiving significant payments ED sources have indicated that more than twodozen celebrities will be summoned in the future to investigate their financial transactions with these illegal apps as the ED suspects that the money paid to celebrities is part of the proceeds of crime Similarly the Reddy Anna app promoted by Urvashi Rautela among other celebrities remains activeBets on IndAus gamemidday also found promotional videos of Sunny Leone Kajal Aggarwal Rautela Farah Khan and others on the Laser Book app The Tiger Exchange app still active for placing bets on the India v Australia match was promoted by comedian Krushna Abhishek and actor Neil Nitin Mukesh The FairPlay app deemed illegal by the ED is also accepting live bets on the India v Australia match and other games with endorsements from Sanjay Dutt Jacqueline Fernandes Badshah and cricketer AB De VillierslsquoED canrsquot intervenersquoSources within the ED have explained that they cannot intervene in ongoing betting activities as they fall under the jurisdiction of local law enforcers The EDrsquos role primarily involves investigating moneylaundering aspectsldquoWe have been diligently working and several arrests have been made during matches where people engage in online betting However these websites and apps are operated from foreign locations making it challenging to trace their servers While we have requested the blocking of various gambling sites the substantial financial interests involved drive promoters to create new apps within days allowing them to persist in their operationsrdquo stated an officer from the Mumbai PoliceThe ED has discovered that the majority of the servers for Mahadevlinked apps are located in Switzerland with call centres operating in UAE Sri Lanka and Nepal These call centres are responsible for creating IDs and placing bets60No of offshore sites overseen by accused