The Ministry of Electronics and Information and Technology (MeitY) recently blocked the domain of illegal betting website Mahadev Book. The knowledge of the same came out to the public after users of the site tried to log on to their accounts on the portal and could not access the webpage.
This blocking has taken place amid the cricketing season in the country, and might be a hint by MeitY to other betting apps to stop their illegitimate and surrogate operations. Currently, Saurabh Chandrakar, the mastermind of Mahadev Book, resides in Dubai and operates the platform through various illegal ways.
Recently, many cases related to people being arrested for betting through Mahadev Book across different states of India had surfaced in the media. However, this time, strict action seems to have finally been taken against Mahadev Book.
Along with Chandrakar, his goon mates Ravi Utpal, Kapil Chellani and Satish Kumar also reside in Dubai and are known to operate close to 60 illegal offshore gambling websites such as Lotus365, FairPlay, Reddy Anna, Laser Book, Tiger Exchange, BetBook247, and Gold365 to name a few.
Apart from operating countless offshore websites, Chandrakar has also been a fugitive, exploiting the loopholes in the law to operate freely and safely from abroad. In fact, several cases relating to fraud and illegal activities are filed against him, and he is one of the most wanted men by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
Illegal betting and celebrity endorsements, a never-ending saga
On Wednesday, May 3, popular Bollywood rapper and musician Badshah, was also spotted promoting FairPlay through his social media accounts, wherein he deceived people by stating that betting through the platform is as good as any other classes of investment.
Shahid Kapoor, Ranbir Kapoor, Urvashi Rautela, and Kiara Advani are some of the celebrities who are endorsing different illegal betting platforms despite the government issuing advisories against it. In fact, Rautela has also received a notice from Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) in this regard.
Speaking of Mahadev Book, the site follows methods similar to most other illegal betting platforms in the country, which is celebrity endorsement. Prachi Desai, Shakti Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Raveena Tandon, Mouni Roy and others are among many popular Bollywood personalities who endorse the illegal betting platform.