The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has booked 29 celebrities, YouTubers, and social media influencers for promoting banned betting apps. Based on FIRs filed by Cyberabad Police, the case has shaken the Telugu Film Industry (TFI), with several prominent Tollywood stars under the scanner. Big names like Vijay Deverakonda, Rana Daggubati, Manchu Lakshmi, Prakash Raj, Nidhhi Agerwal, Ananya Nagalla, and Sreemukhi have been named in the case. The ED is now investigating their involvement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The FIRs have been filed under multiple legal provisions, including Sections 318(4), 112, and 49 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Sections 3, 3A, and 4 of the Telangana Gaming Act, and Section 66D of the IT Act, 2000 (amended 2008). These charges cover digital cheating, unlawful promotion of gambling platforms, and misleading users through electronic means. Authorities claim that several victims of these apps fell into severe debt, with some cases tragically ending in suicide.
The list of accused also includes popular Telugu TV personalities and digital content creators such as Varshini Sounderajan, Siri Hanumanth, Vasanthi Krishnan, Shobha Shetty, Amrutha Chowdary, Nayani Pavani, Neha Pathan, Imran Khan, Padmavati, Pandu, Vishnu Priya, Harsha Sai, Bhayya Sunny Yadav, Tasty Teja, Ritu Chowdary, and Bandaru Supreetha. Police allege that these individuals endorsed and circulated links to illegal betting apps in exchange for high commissions.
With cases registered across Hyderabad, Cyberabad, Visakhapatnam, and Suryapet, the ED has begun tracing the financial transactions involved. As the crackdown deepens, the spotlight is now firmly on how far the influence of Telugu cinema and its stars extended into the unlawful promotion of betting apps, bringing a wave of legal heat onto the industry.