The agency questioned the all-rounder and left-hand batter, recording his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), officials said. An influencer named Anveshi Jain also appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for questioning in the same case.
The federal probe agency has questioned former cricketers Suresh Raina, Shikhar Dhawan, and Robin Uthappa, as well as former TMC MP and actor Mimi Chakraborty and Bengali actor Ankush Hazra over the last few weeks as part of this investigation. Actor Sonu Sood has been summoned by the ED for questioning on Wednesday in connection with the case.
The investigation into the operations of the 1xBet betting app is part of the ED’s wider probe against such platforms, amid allegations of duping numerous people of crores of rupees and reportedly evading a significant amount of direct and indirect taxes.
According to Curacao-registered 1xBet, it is a globally recognized bookmaker with 18 years of experience in the betting industry. The brand’s customers can place bets on thousands of sporting events, with the company’s website and app available in 70 languages, as per information available on its official website.
Several other sportspersons, movie actors, online influencers, and celebrities are expected to be questioned by the agency in the coming days as part of this probe.
Sources reveal that the ED’s line of investigation aims to determine how the celebrities were contacted by the betting company seeking their endorsement, the nodal person(s) for contact in India, and the mode and place of payment—whether in cash through hawala or via banking channels, and whether the payments were made within India or abroad.
While recording statements of cricketers and actors, the agency is understood to be asking if they were aware that online betting and gaming is illegal in India. The celebrities have also been asked to furnish copies of their contracts with 1xBet, along with all relevant email and paper documentation.
The ED is also examining the end use of the money received by the celebrities to check if any of the amounts can be categorized as “proceeds of crime” under the PMLA, according to sources.
Recently, the Union government banned real money online gaming in India through new legislation. During a recent national meeting of senior officers in Jammu and Kashmir, the ED decided to initiate “focused strategies” to investigate financial crimes arising from this sector, particularly those linked to alleged illegal betting and gaming.
According to estimates by market analysis firms and probe agencies conducted before the government ban, around 22 crore Indian users engaged with various online betting apps, with half of them being regular users. The online betting app market in India was estimated to be worth over USD 100 billion and was reportedly growing at a rate of 30 percent, experts say.
The government has informed Parliament that it has issued 1,524 orders from 2022 till June 2025 to block online betting and gambling platforms.
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