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ED summons Google, Meta as part of illegal betting probe
An ED officer aware of the details said that executives of both companies have been asked to appear before it on July 21
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued summons to the representatives of tech giants Google and Meta in its money laundering probe into illegal online betting platforms which use multiple platforms for surrogate advertisements, people familiar with the development said on Saturday.
Without divulging any names, an ED officer aware of the details said that executives of both companies have been asked to appear before it on July 21 and record their statements as part of its case registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The federal agency is also learnt to have sought some records from both the companies.
HT reached out to Meta and Google for a comment, but did not receive a response till the time of publishing.
As part of its larger probe into multiple illegal online betting platforms, the financial crimes probe agency has been asking questions not only from tech firms, but also media houses which may have received money for advertisements from them, said the first officer.
The ED officer cited above said several platforms hosting illegal betting and gambling links, including instances of advertisements placed for them on various social media outlets and app stores, are under the scanner.
In 2023, the Union ministry of information and broadcasting issued four advisories to newspapers, broadcast news channels, entertainment channels, publishers of online news and current affairs content, online advertisement intermediaries (like Google and Facebook), and social media platforms to not advertise online betting platforms.
Despite these instructions from the Centre that advertisements of online betting platforms are not permitted, eminent personalities in the field of entertainment and sports endorsed them. These actors and sportspersons are also under the ED's scanner and they could be summoned soon, officials said.
According to the information gathered by ED over the past several months, a second officer of the agency said that multiple betting platforms, which have been banned over the years, still run their operations by changing names and are promoted by celebrities and social media influencers.
“These platforms are in violation of multiple laws and directions by the Indian government, including tax evasion, money laundering, and Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) as money is transferred out of the country illegally. It is estimated that around 22 crore (220 million) Indian users are currently engaged on various betting apps, and 11 crore (110 million) of these are regular users,” the second officer said, also on the condition of anonymity.
In just the first three months of 2025, more than 1.6 billion visits were recorded on illegal betting websites or apps and it is suspected that the online betting market in India might be worth around $100 million, the first ED officer said. “The estimates also suggest that top betting apps are evading ₹27,000 crore in taxes every year,” they added.
The federal agency, a third officer said, has identified several benami accounts involved in the transfer of betting funds.
The government has issued 1,410 blocking directions related to online betting/gambling/gaming websites (including mobile applications) between 2022 and 25 (till February 2025), said the second officer.
