The Enforcement Directorate has summoned Google and Meta for questioning on July 21 in connection with its ongoing investigation into online betting applications allegedly involved in large-scale financial crimes. Officials confirmed that both tech giants received formal notices on July 19, citing their platforms’ role in advertising and promoting websites linked to betting operations currently under probe for money laundering, hawala transactions and illegal gambling.
The investigation, anchored under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, has expanded dramatically in recent weeks following five FIRs filed in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. ED alleges that several online apps present themselves as skill-based games while masking what it describes as illicit gambling activities. These platforms are believed to have generated funds worth several hundred crores in rupees, routed through covert financial channels to avoid scrutiny.
ED officials claim that the visibility of these apps was amplified by strategic advertising slots and algorithmic placements offered by tech platforms, allowing them to reach millions of users. While no public comment has been issued by Google or Meta, sources suggest their India compliance teams have begun internal reviews in response to the summons.
The ED’s probe also targets celebrity endorsements allegedly used to build social legitimacy around these betting apps. Twenty-nine actors, influencers and YouTubers from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have been booked under the Public Gambling Act, 1867. Among them are popular film personalities such as Vijay Deverakonda, Rana Daggubati, Prakash Raj, Nidhi Agarwal, Pranitha Subhash, Manchu Lakshmi and Ananya Nagella, alongside television hosts and influencers like Sreemukhi, Shyamala, Varshini Sounderajan, Nayani Pavani and Bayya Sunny Yadav.
These individuals are suspected of endorsing platforms such as Junglee Rummy, A23, JeetWin, Parimatch and Lotus365, which ED links to layered laundering and paid promotional schemes. In March, Cyberabad police had booked several of the named celebrities following complaints that endorsements may have misled the public. Most actors subsequently released statements claiming they were unaware of the illegality or that they were promoting only government-licensed gaming platforms.
The case adds to a growing pattern of regulatory scrutiny around tech platforms operating in India, especially where advertising intersects with financial vulnerabilities, consumer harm or legal ambiguity. The decision to summon two global digital gatekeepers signals that enforcement agencies are now widening the accountability net—not just to content creators and app owners, but to platform providers that allegedly facilitated commercial visibility for suspect operators.
Industry observers say the move may trigger broader legal reform around digital advertising standards, platform responsibility, and the classification of gaming versus gambling online. The July 21 questioning is expected to focus on platform policies, advertising vetting procedures, and financial disclosures involving paid promotions.
ED sources say more subpoenas may follow depending on what emerges from the tech giants’ responses. The case remains one of India’s most high-profile investigations into the convergence of celebrity culture, gaming apps, digital finance and tech platform accountability.
