Mahadev betting app still active, generated Rs 94,400 crore in 10 years, says ED

The Enforcement Directorate has told a special PMLA court in Raipur that the Mahadev online betting app and its sister websites allegedly generated proceeds of crime worth Rs 94,400 crore over the last 10 years, with the main platform still operational and running a "huge" number of panels.

The agency made the claim in the sixth prosecution complaint, or charge sheet, filed a few days ago before the court, naming 42 individuals and companies as accused. It said the Mahadev app, whose main promoters and panel members are from Chhattisgarh, was a conglomeration of illegal betting websites hosted abroad.

According to the ED, the app, also known as Mahadev Online Book, advertised these betting websites through closed WhatsApp and Telegram groups and Facebook pages, drawing thousands of youths with the promise of quick money through betting and entertainment. The agency filed a money laundering case in October 2022 after taking cognisance of seven police FIRs registered in Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal. In the charge sheet, the ED said, "As per the latest findings of the investigation under PMLA, 2002, it is found that Mahadev Online Booking Application is still in operations and running huge number of panels." It added that the total estimated proceeds of crime generated by the Mahadev app could be put at Rs 75,000 crore to Rs 80,000 crore during the last seven years of its operations. The agency also said sister websites such as Skyexchange.com and Lotus365.com generated about Rs 11,000 crore to Rs 12,000 crore and Rs 2,400 crore, respectively, in alleged proceeds of crime, adding that Skyexchange.com had been operational since 2016.

The ED told the court that these figures were "only a provisional estimate and in case any evidence which reflect a better estimate comes on to surface, the same shall be presented before the Hon'ble court". It further alleged that the Mahadev app's "systematic" operation ran locally with the "active support and connivance" of local police and politicians from Chhattisgarh. "... The bureaucrats and politically exposed persons have been receiving illegal gratification for turning a blind eye to this illegal betting racket," the agency said.

The agency said the app provided online platforms for illegal betting in live games such as Poker, card games and other chance games, along with betting on cricket, badminton, tennis and football. It also offered card-based games such as Teen Patti, Dragon Tiger and Virtual Cricket, and apps that allowed bets on different elections in India. The ED also informed the court that a TV host who allegedly promoted illegal betting apps gave the agency two demand drafts worth Rs 1.20 crore out of the Rs 1.50 crore she had earned from endorsing such apps. It said she offered to surrender the money and stated that she did not know such earnings were illegal in India. The ED raided her homes in Delhi and Mumbai in May and seized Rs 30 lakh in cash, and treated the entire Rs 1.5 crore as proceeds of crime from illegal betting.

The agency added that people who operated panels and were from cities such as Bhilai, Raipur, Bhopal and Delhi allegedly earned amounts ranging from about Rs 3.5 crore to Rs 60 crore, and used the money to fund weddings and buy property, gold, cars and expensive sarees. So far, the ED has arrested 14 people in the case, seized and attached assets worth Rs 2,104 crore, identified 116 accused across six charge sheets, and carried out searches at 190 premises across the country.