The Morning Brief Another Big Betting Scam!!
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Nov 7, 2025 Rashmi Rajput, a savvy financial crimes reporter from The Economic Times, dives deep into the murky world of online betting and its links to cricket scandal. She reveals how the banned platform 1xBet operates through offshore loopholes, enabling a staggering Rs 84,000 crore in transactions. Discover the clever use of surrogate advertising that drags celebrities into the fray and learn about the Enforcement Directorate's probing of stars like Raina and Dhawan. With the rise of rebranded apps, the underground betting economy poses pressing questions for regulation.
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Offshore Structure Evades Local Enforcement
- 1xBet operates as an offshore betting platform that routes transactions abroad to evade Indian law enforcement.
- Rashmi Rajput explains that the promoters are often based overseas, making enforcement against main operators difficult.
Huge Hidden Economy Behind Betting Apps
- Online betting apps in India handle transactions running into tens of thousands of crores annually, creating a parallel underground economy.
- Rashmi Rajput cites a study estimating roughly ₹84,000 crore flowing through such platforms, with individual apps making hundreds of crores monthly.
Surrogate Ads Mask Betting Promotion
- Operators use surrogate advertising and social-media ecosystems to mask direct promotion of betting apps.
- Rashmi Rajput describes fake sports pages, ad agencies and influencers funneling users to betting links behind the scenes.