Mahadev Satta & 22 Betting Apps Ban : The central government has issued orders to ban 22 illegal betting and gambling apps and websites, including the controversial betting app Mahadev Book Online (Mahadev App). An official notification said that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology issued an order to block the operations of Mahadev betting app and 21 other apps and websites. The government said that these apps have been blocked on the request of the Enforcement Directorate (ED). A press release issued by the IT Ministry said that this action was taken following the investigation conducted by the Enforcement Directorate against the illegal betting app syndicate and the subsequent raid on the kingpins of Mahadev App in Chhattisgarh, which revealed the illegal operation of the app. Happened.
22 illegal betting apps and websites including Mahadev Book banned
The Central Government has issued orders to ban 22 illegal betting platforms including Mahadev App and ReddyAnnaPrestoPro on the request of the Enforcement Directorate (ED). This information was given in an official statement. In the statement, Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrashekhar alleged that the Chhattisgarh government did not request to ban these forums despite having the authority to do so. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has issued orders to ban 22 illegal betting apps and websites, including Mahadev Book and ReddyAnnaPrestoPro, the statement said.
What did IT Minister Rajeev Chandrashekhar say?
It is noteworthy that in September this year, ED had seized assets worth Rs 417 crore related to Mahadev online betting app. The investigating agency had alleged that Saurabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal were running the company from Dubai and were earning Rs 450 crore every month from online gambling. Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Rajiv Chandrashekhar said that the Chhattisgarh government had full power to recommend closure of the website/app under Section 69A of the IT Act. But they did not do so and no such request has been made by the state government, even though they have been investigating it for the last 1.5 years.
Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has issued blocking orders against 22 illegal betting apps & websites, including Mahadev Book and Reddyannaprestopro. The action follows investigations conducted by ED against illegal betting app syndicate and subsequent… pic.twitter.com/WpnxS6u3Be
— ANI (@ANI) November 5, 2023
Franchise based model, profit sharing at 70-30 percent
The ED had alleged in its prosecution complaint that Mahadev App was running a franchise based model. In this, the profit was divided in the ratio of 70 and 30 percent. The prosecution complaint is equivalent to a charge sheet. In March this year, the IT Ministry had issued orders to ban the operation of 138 betting and gambling apps on an immediate and emergency basis for improper data storage and sending it to other countries as well as money laundering. A month later, the IT Ministry amended the Information Technology Rules of 2021 for the rules for approval and non-approval of online games. It clearly states that any game in which betting or betting on any outcome is done is not allowed to be played in India.