Former India opener Shikhar Dhawan has been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for questioning in connection with a money laundering probe linked to the banned betting app 1xBet.
Sources said the 39-year-old ex-cricketer is under the scanner over certain endorsements allegedly tied to the app. His statement will be recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The ED is investigating several illegal betting apps that are believed to have duped users of crores of rupees and evaded massive taxes. Recently, another former India star, Suresh Raina, was questioned for over eight hours in the same case.
Officials revealed that the federal agency has also summoned representatives of Google and Meta, while searches were carried out across multiple states against similar apps, including Parimatch.
The government has already banned real-money online gaming through new legislation, but officials say the underground betting market in India remains massive, worth over USD 100 billion with around 22 crore users, of which nearly half are regular players.
Dhawan’s questioning comes as part of the larger crackdown on this growing shadow economy of online betting apps.