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    EYE ON INDIA                                                             APRIL 03, 2026    |  The Indian Eye                    6

            From Mumbai to Dubai, India intensifies

                    its crackdown on illegal betting apps

               Beyond financial crime, the crackdown is also driven by rising social risks. The government has

               repeatedly warned about the impact of illegal betting apps on vulnerable users, particularly youth

            OUR BUREAU
            Dubai / New Delhi
            A
                  sweeping enforcement drive
                  against illegal online betting
                  platforms in  India—including
            the attachment of assets worth Rs
            1,700  crore  in  high-profile  locations
            such as Burj Khalifa—marks a deci-
            sive escalation in the government’s
            effort to dismantle what authorities
            describe as a vast, cross-border finan-
            cial crime network.
                The latest action by the Enforce-
            ment Directorate (ED) highlights
            the scale and sophistication of these
            operations. According to the agen-
            cy, the attached properties belong to
            Sourabh Chandrakar, a key promoter
            of the Mahadev Online Book betting
            platform. “The properties considered
            for attachment… were acquired from
            the Proceeds of Crime generated by     The latest action by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) highlights the scale and sophistication of these operations (Agency file photo)
            the commission of scheduled offences
            related to illegal online betting opera-  were eventually invested in high-value   of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, is central   framework. The new law seeks to dis-
            tions,” the ED said.              assets in the UAE and India, raising   to this strategy, aiming to curb pred-  tinguish between games of skill and il-
                Investigators say the platform   concerns  about  capital  flight  and  fi-  atory practices while enabling a regu-  legal betting, while ensuring consum-
            functioned as a global syndicate, with   nancial system integrity.  lated gaming ecosystem.           er protection and transparency.
            operations spread across multiple     Beyond  financial  crime,  the    The seriousness of the issue is   The enforcement push is also
            domains  such  as  Tiger  Exchange,   crackdown is also driven by rising   also recognised globally. The World   notable for  its scale  and  coordina-
            Gold365,  and  Laser247.  “The  Ma-  social risks. The government has re-  Health  Organization  has  classified   tion. The ED said it has conducted
            hadev Online Book operated as a   peatedly warned about the impact   gaming disorder as a health condition,   searches at more than 175 premises
            large-scale  international  betting  of illegal betting apps on vulnerable   describing it as “a pattern of behaviour   and  arrested  13  individuals  so  far,
            syndicate,”  the  agency  noted,  add-  users, particularly youth. Officials say   characterised  by  impaired  control…   while 74 persons have been named as
            ing that it was structured through a   these platforms often thrive on “mis-  and continuation despite negative con-  accused in multiple prosecution com-
            franchise-based network of panels   leading  promises  of  quick  wealth,”   sequences.” This has strengthened the   plaints. It has also moved to declare
            across India while being controlled   leading to addiction, financial losses,   case for stricter oversight in countries   key accused as fugitive economic of-
            from Dubai.                       and social distress.              like India with large digital user bases.  fenders under the Fugitive Economic
                The financial scale is significant.   This concern has translated into   Another driver behind the crack-  Offenders Act, 2018.
            The ED has so far attached, seized, or   aggressive regulatory action. In recent   down is the need to safeguard India’s   “ED remains committed to dis-
            frozen assets worth Rs 4,336 crore in   weeks,  the  government  has  blocked   rapidly expanding digital economy.   mantling and uprooting the entire ille-
            connection with such operations. The   around  300 illegal  betting  websites   With increasing internet penetration   gal betting ecosystem and its interna-
            agency revealed that “the promoters   and apps, taking the total number of   and over 100 million retail participants   tional financial network,” the agency
            retained approximately 70-75% of the   blocked platforms to nearly 8,400. Of   in financial markets, unregulated bet-  said, signalling that the crackdown is
            profits generated by the betting pan-  these, approximately 4,900 were shut   ting platforms pose systemic risks. Il-  far from over.
            els,” underlining the enormous profit-  down after the enactment of the On-  legal financial flows, tax evasion, and   Ultimately,  India’s  intensified
            ability of these illegal networks.  line  Gaming  Act,  reflecting  a  sharp   cross-border transactions complicate   action against betting apps reflects a
                A major concern for authorities   intensification of enforcement.  regulatory oversight and undermine   convergence  of  concerns—financial
            is the laundering of these proceeds.   Government sources emphasised   investor confidence.           crime,  social  harm,  and  regulatory
            The ED said funds were “systemat-  that the crackdown is part of a broad-  At the same time, authorities are   gaps  in  a  fast-evolving  digital  land-
            ically layered through thousands of   er effort “to protect users especially   attempting to strike a balance. While   scape. By targeting both the money
            mules or dummy bank accounts” and   youth, and to curb financial and social   illegal operators are being targeted   trail  and  operational  networks,  the
            later transferred abroad using hawala   harm caused by illegal online betting   aggressively,  the  government  is  also   government  is  seeking  to  bring  ac-
            routes,  cryptocurrency,  and  complex   and gambling platforms.” The recent-  working to promote legitimate online   countability to a sector that has oper-
            financial  mechanisms.  These  funds   ly enacted Promotion and Regulation   gaming under a structured regulatory   ated in the shadows for too long.

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