New Delhi, September 23: Former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Delhi on Tuesday for questioning in a money laundering case linked to the online betting platform 1xBet, officials said. Singh, 43, arrived at the agency’s central Delhi office around noon, dressed in a white T-shirt and pants, and was accompanied by his legal team. His statement was recorded under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), they added.
The federal agency has in recent weeks questioned several cricketers, actors, and influencers as part of its probe. Among those summoned earlier were Suresh Raina, Shikhar Dhawan, Robin Uthappa, and former Trinamool Congress MP Mimi Chakraborty, along with Bengali actor Ankush Hazra. Social media influencer Anveshi Jain also appeared before the ED on Tuesday in connection with the same case.
Actor Sonu Sood has been summoned for Wednesday, with officials indicating that more celebrities are expected to be called in the coming days. “The agency is seeking details on how the betting company approached these individuals, who acted as nodal contacts in India, the mode of payments—hawala or banking channels—and whether the transactions took place in India or abroad,” a source familiar with the investigation said.
The ED’s line of inquiry also includes whether the celebrities knew that online betting is illegal in India, officials noted. They have been asked to submit copies of contracts, emails, and other documents related to endorsements for the platform. Investigators are further examining the end use of payments received to determine if these funds could be classified as “proceeds of crime” under the PMLA.
The probe stems from allegations that 1xBet, a Curacao-registered bookmaker, duped Indian users of crores of rupees and evaded substantial taxes. While the company describes itself as a global brand with 18 years in the betting industry and services in 70 languages, Indian authorities have linked its operations to illegal gambling activities.
The ED is expected to move toward attaching assets of those found to have benefited from the alleged proceeds of crime, sources said. A formal chargesheet is likely to be filed before court once the investigation reaches a further stage.
The case is part of the agency’s wider crackdown on illegal online betting and gaming platforms. At a recent national meeting in Jammu and Kashmir, ED leadership resolved to adopt “focused strategies” to investigate financial crimes in the sector.
The scale of India’s online betting market has raised alarm among policymakers. Before the Union government banned real money online gaming through new legislation, estimates by market analysts suggested that India had about 22 crore users of such platforms, nearly half of them regular players. The market was valued at over USD 100 billion, growing at nearly 30 percent annually, according to experts.
The government has informed Parliament that between 2022 and June 2025, it issued 1,524 blocking orders against online betting and gambling platforms.
