ED discovers betting app Magicwin owned by Pakistani national; questions celebrities endorsing it: Report

According to a report, ED said that the Magicwin app, which has been endorsed by many celebrities, has a Pakistani connect to it. The government agency was able to trace the money trail which was sent from India to Pakistan via Dubai.

It has been discovered that a betting app which has been under the radar of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is owned by a Pakistani national.

According to a source-based report by NDTV, the ED said that the Magicwin app, which has been endorsed by many celebrities, has a Pakistani connect. The agency was able to trace the money trail which was sent from India to Pakistan via Dubai, uncovering for the first time the link to Pakistan.

Actresses Mallika Sherawat and Pooja Banerjee have already been questioned by the ED and two more celebrities have also been summoned for questioning later.

Sources told the publication that at least seven celebrities will be summoned for questioning this week.

While investigating this app, the ED found that Magicwin was being portrayed as a gaming website and was operated by Indian nationals living in Dubai.

Under this guise, the app provided betting games to users, which are run from Philippines and other countries where betting is legal.

The game's API is taken from other sources and shown on Magicwin. The app also has various social media accounts which they use to promote themselves in the country.

In the last six months, the ED has conducted 67 raids across the country. Just last week, the agency raided 21 locations linked to those associated with the case in Delhi, Mumbai and Pune, and seized about Rs 3.55 crore.

The money the winners won through betting, was transferred to their bank accounts through payment gateways and aggregators of shell companies.

They also received money via domestic money transfer.