ETtech Explainer: What is the Mahadev app case troubling Bollywood celebrities?

In a late-night order on November 5, the ministry of electronics and information technology blocked several betting and gambling apps, including Mahadev Book Online, over allegations of money laundering. Earlier, some of the people related to the operations of the Mahadev betting app were arrested by the Enforcement Directorate and charged with various sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

In February this year, the IT ministry had issued similar orders to bar the operations of 138 betting and gambling apps on an “urgent” and “emergency” basis for “improper data storage and transfer” to other countries as well as money laundering.