Former Indian cricketer Shikhar Dhawan on Thursday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for questioning in an alleged illicit betting app-linked money laundering case, official sources said.
Around 11 a.m. IST, he walked inside the federal probe agency’s central Delhi office.
According to sources, as part of this investigation into a “illegal” betting app called 1xBet, the agency recorded his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). It is believed that the 39-year-old former India opener was connected to the app through certain endorsements. During the interrogation, the ED wanted to know how he is connected to this app.
The bureau is looking into several cases involving unlawful betting apps that are accused of evading a significant amount of taxes or defrauding investors and customers out of crores of rupees.
The federal probe agency questioned former cricketer Suresh Raina last month.
Real-money online gaming has been outlawed by the Union government through recent laws.
An estimated 22 crore Indians use these online betting apps, with half of them (about 11 crore) being frequent users, according to estimates from market research firms and investigative agencies.
Experts estimate that the Indian online betting app sector is worth over $100 billion and is expanding at a rate of 30%.
The government recently informed Parliament that it had issued 1,524 orders to stop internet gambling and betting platforms between 2022 and June 2025.
