The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has registered a case against 29 film stars, YouTubers and Instagram Influencers from Telangana for promoting illegal betting apps. The list includes actors Vijay Devarakonda, Rana Daggubati, Manchu Lakshmi, Prakash Raj, Nidhi Aggarwal, Ananya Nagalla, Pranitha Subhash, Anchor Shrimukhi, Shyamala, YouTube Harsh Sai, Bayya Sunny Yadav and local boy Nani etc. This action has been taken on the basis of an FIR registered by the Sibrabad Police.
The case began when 32 -year -old businessman Phanindra Sharma, a resident of Miyapur, lodged a complaint that many young and common people are investing in these betting apps, which are being promoted by famous film stars. According to the complaint, these apps are putting medium and lower-medium class families in financial crisis. The Sibrabad Police on 19 March 2025 filed an FIR against 25 famous personalities under sections of IPC, Telangana Gaming Act and Information Technology Act.
The ED has now taken up the matter under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and has started checking election payment, financial transactions and tax records received from these celebrities. Police say that these apps include transactions worth thousands of crores of rupees, which are causing financial and mental harm to the youth by luring them easy earnings.
The Vijay Devarakonda team clarified that they had only promoted skill-based gaming platform A23, the validity of which is scheduled to end in 2023. Prakash Raj said that he had promoted an app in 2016, but later consider it as false and made distance from it. Rana Daggubati also talked about legal compliance. This case has become a major controversy in the Telugu film industry. The ED investigation has increased the risk of fines and legal action on these celebrities.
