On Wednesday, June 14, Kathmandu police arrested eight individuals who were allegedly committing fraud through an online gambling site called 1XBET. Many of the arrested individuals included popular YouTubers and influencers.

The police started investigation into the mater after receiving tip-off. On further probe, the police found out that these individuals were using 1XBET for various online betting or gambling activities.

According to the police, illegal transactions worth millions were discovered during the probe. An officer handling the matter said, “Following the probe the people involved were arrested. It included artists and YouTube operators.”

The arrested individual included actor Marichman Shrestha, Raju Paudel known as Raju Master and Pawan Khatiwada known as Makuri along with Alis Rai, Jalan Gharti Magar, Ganesh Devkota, Saroj Ghimire alias Dhuedu Budho, Begum Nepali alias Bhatbhate Maila.

The officer also revealed that the people were detained under Article 125 of the Criminal Code of Nepal on suspicion of promoting gambling websites and engaging in illicit gaming through their YouTube channels.

Influencers used promotional coupons to lure audience for placing bets

These individuals were using promotional codes and coupons to lure in their fans for making bets on 1XBET, which is a banned website in Nepal. Additionally, these influencers were also earning commission from the transactions their fans were making.

Similar cases are also prevalent in India and with celebrities promoting illegal betting website on their social media on regular basis and YouTubers sneaking in promotion for these banned and illegal offshore websites. Despite the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) laying down rules that these celebrities may get fined up to Rs 50 lakh for promoting these banned websites.