Guwahati: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) against 29 individuals, including film actors, television personalities, social media influencers, and YouTubers, for allegedly promoting illegal betting applications in violation of the Public Gambling Act, 1867.
The case has been filed under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), following five FIRs lodged in Panjagutta, Miyapur, Cyberabad, Suryapet, and Visakhapatnam.
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According to officials, the case pertains to paid promotions of online platforms such as Junglee Rummy, A23, JeetWin, Parimatch, Lotus365, and others, which are suspected to be involved in money laundering activities.
The ED stated that several individuals received financial compensation for promoting these apps, which allegedly operated as gambling platforms while presenting themselves as skill-based games.
Among those named in the ECIR are actors Rana Daggubati, Prakash Raj, Vijay Devarakonda, Manchu Lakshmi, Praneetha, and Nidhi Agarwal.
Also named are television and media figures including Ananya Nagella, Siri Hanumanthu, Sreemukhi, Varshini Sounderajan, Vasanthi Krishnan, Shoba Shetty, Amrutha Chowdary, Nayani Pavani, Neha Pathan, Pandu, Padhmavathi, Imran Khan, Vishnu Priya, and Shyamala.
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The list includes digital content creators such as Harsha Sai, Bayya Sunny Yadav, Tastyteja, Rithu Chowdhary, Bandaru Sheshayani Supritha, Ajay, Sunny, Sudheer, and the YouTube channel ‘Local Boy Nani’. Kiran Goud and others associated with the management of the betting platforms are also under investigation.
Some of the promotional content was reportedly presented as entertainment or community service. Complaints were filed by individuals claiming financial losses after being influenced by the content. One complainant reported a loss of over Rs 3 crore.
The ED is expected to summon the individuals named in the ECIR for questioning. Some have issued public statements denying wrongdoing and stated that they ended associations with the platforms once legal concerns were identified.