On the New Year’s Eve, most people choose to cherish the upcoming year with a positive note. However, former India cricketer Suresh Raina chose to lure people into illegal online betting. Raina promoted 1xBat Sporting Lines, an offshore platform of illicit betting site 1xBet.
In his most recent post on X, the Southpaw can be seen wearing a jersey featuring the branding of the offshore app. This is mostly likely done with an intention to engage people into checking the site on the internet, and stumble upon its betting counterpart during the process.
Raina captioned his post, “Dear fans! With the new year on the horizon, together with 𝟏𝐱𝐁𝐚𝐭 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 we wish that you embrace it with an open heart and go forward with faith, hope, and courage. Search for 𝟏𝐱𝐁𝐚𝐭 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 on the Internet & be always in trend in the upcoming year!”
See Suresh Raina’s X post here:
Dear fans!
With the new year on the horizon, together with 𝟏𝐱𝐁𝐚𝐭 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 we wish that you embrace it with an open heart and go forward with faith, hope, and courage.
Search for 𝟏𝐱𝐁𝐚𝐭 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 on the Internet & be always in… pic.twitter.com/uEaJmOgIqh
— Suresh Raina🇮🇳 (@ImRaina) December 30, 2023
The UP-born cricketer has been the face of Indian cricket and has a huge fan following. With a follower count of over 21 million, it is a possibility that Raina’s fans get encouraged to start betting.
While Raina talks about going into 2024 with faith, hope, and courage, the platform he promotes is totally opposite. 1xBat poses itself as a legal and trusted online gaming platform, which is definitely not the case. People end up believing their favourite influencer and become prey to betting addiction.
Raina, known for crucial partnership during his playing days, has been a partner with 1xBet for quite some time now. Ex-India cricketers like Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh also promote 1xBat.
The method of promoting surrogate brands through celebrities isn’t uncommon. In fact, these companies, despite receiving multiple government warnings in the past, have been adamant to onboard celebrities. Illegal operatives are found to be advertising their platforms while sponsoring cricketing tournaments across the world.
Delay in government’s negligence towards online gambling has encouraged these offshore platforms to promote themselves. The Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, announced amendments to online gaming rules. However, even after six months, their implementation remains in question.
