22 Betting Apps Banned by Government

New Delhi: The ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) on Sunday issued the order, which follows investigations conducted by the ED “against illegal betting app syndicate and subsequent raids on Mahadev Book in Chhattisgarh, revealing the app’s unlawful operations,” the IT ministry said in a press release.

As per the official notification, On October 5 the government has issued orders to ban 22 illegal betting and gambling apps and websites, including the controversial app Mahadev Book Online, on the request of the ED.

The move follows investigations by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against an illegal betting app syndicate that revealed the app’s illicit activities Mahadev Book, as well as raids on and seizures of assets worth Rs 417 crore in Chhattisgarh, according to the ministry of electronics and information technology. The inquiry further disclosed that the Mahadev Book organisation operated out of Dubai and earned Rs 450 crore a month by providing unlawful wagers via a cache of internet applications.

On the contrary, under Section 69A of the IT Act, the Chhattisgarh government possessed complete authority to suggest the closure of a website or app. But didn’t do anything in this regard so far. Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the state minister for IT, stated that they had been looking into it for the past 1.5 years. The minister accused Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel of inactivity in a harsh post on X.

Pertinent to remember that the IT ministry had already issued similar directives in March 2023, prohibiting the “urgent” and “emergency” use of 138 betting and gambling apps. Nearly 400 gaming, gambling, betting, photo-editing, and other apps and websites have been blocked by the government in the previous two years due to either connections to China, money-laundering, or inappropriate storage or keeping an eye on data of Indian citizen.