Hyderabad, 20 Mar

A case was registered against six Telugu film actors, including Rana Daggubati, Prakash Raj, Vijay Deverkonda and 19 social media influencers, for allegedly promoting betting apps, police said on Thursday.

Actors Lakshmi Manchu, Praneetha, and Nidhi Agarwal were also booked in the case, a police official at Miyapur Police Station said.

The complainant, a businessman, accused the celebrities such as Rana Daggubati and the influencers of promoting the betting apps on social media through pop-up ads among others.

Based on the complaint, a case was registered under relevant sections of the BNS, Gaming Act and IT Act on 19 March, the official said.

The police official further said they were planning to issue notices to those named in the FIR. Further investigation is on.

According to the complainant, while he was interacting with youths in his colony recently, most of them were discussing investing money in betting, gambling and casino apps which are being promoted by celebrities and influencers on social media.

He was even influenced by such betting applications, and was about to deposit in one such betting/gambling/casino website, but due to his family’s word of caution, he did not do so, the complainant said.

The FIR said the complainant, while using his social media applications, came across several celebrities and influencers who are actively promoting several of the “illegal” betting apps, websites and other platforms that have to be downloaded on mobile phones and used for betting and gambling.

The complainant alleged the influencers and celebrities who are promoting these apps and websites are doing so by accepting huge sums of money as commission, and remuneration. These platforms are encouraging public, especially people, who are in dire need of money, to invest their hard earned and family money into those apps/websites and slowly get addicted to them, leading to financial distress, he claimed.

The complainant named the celebrities and influencers who he alleged were promoting the "illegal" betting, gambling and casino applications/websites.

These platforms are actively promoting their apps/websites through social media advertisements with the help of celebrities and influencers, thereby reaching the target audience automatically without even the users actually searching for it, he said.

Thousands of lakhs of rupees are involved in these illegal platforms, he alleged and requested the police to take necessary action on the management of these platforms as well as on the individuals who were illegally promoting these platforms.