ED Summons Urvashi Rautela, Mimi Chakraborty in Illegal Betting App case

September 14, 2025

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued summons to Bollywood actress Urvashi Rautela and Trinamool Congress (TMC) Member of Parliament Mimi Chakraborty in connection with the escalating investigation into illegal online betting platforms.

Both individuals have been asked to appear before the ED headquarters in Delhi on September 17, 2025, for questioning regarding their alleged roles in promoting banned gambling apps, including the infamous 1xBet and Mahadev platforms.

This dual summons represents a major escalation in the probe, which has already implicated numerous celebrities from the entertainment and sports worlds.

The ED alleges that these apps, operating in violation of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), and Information Technology Act, have generated over ₹6,000 crore in illicit revenue through surrogate promotions and hawala channels.

Background of the Investigation

The crackdown on illegal betting apps intensified last year following raids that uncovered a nexus involving rigged algorithms, offshore servers in Dubai, and aggressive celebrity endorsements. Platforms like 1xBet, FairPlay, Parimatch, and Lotus365 reportedly spent more than ₹50 crore on marketing, often disguising operations as “skill games” to evade bans.

Previous high-profile figures questioned include:

• Cricketers: Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Suresh Raina, and Shikhar Dhawan.

• Actors: Sonu Sood, Rana Daggubati, Vijay Deverakonda, Prakash Raj, and Manchu Lakshmi.

• Recent Addition: Bengali actor Ankush Hazra, summoned on August 30, 2025.

ED raids have led to the seizure of assets worth over ₹284 crore, including bank accounts, shares, and digital evidence from media agencies.