Mahadev Betting Scam: How A ₹6,000-Crore Network Built Its Web Of Betting, Money And Influence?

Sourabh Chandrakar, the key accused in the alleged ₹6,000-crore Mahadev online betting app racket, was brought back from Oman on Sunday as Indian agencies widened their push in one of the country’s biggest illegal betting probes. His extradition matters because investigators have described him as the mastermind of the network and a central figure in the money trail and alleged payments to public servants.

The Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate had pursued Chandrakar’s extradition since his detention in Muscat earlier in June. Officials said his return is being seen as one of the biggest successes in recent times. After his return, agencies are now pursuing the extradition of Mahadev Online Book co-founder Ravi Uppal from Dubai.

The case has returned to the spotlight amid fresh action and older allegations of links to politicians and bureaucrats in Chhattisgarh. CBI stated Chandrakar will be produced before a special court in Raipur on Monday after medical examination and transit remand.

The CBI took charge of the Mahadev Online Book cases after a request from the Chhattisgarh government and has called it one of India’s biggest illegal online betting networks. Investigators say the syndicate operated from abroad through franchised panels and branches that signed up users and took wagers on cricket, football, card games and other events. They also allege the money moved through mule bank accounts, multiple layers of transfers and hawala channels.

How The App Operated

Investigators say the network spread fast. ED has alleged that Mahadev Online Book, or MOB, began illegal operations in 2019-20 and continues to operate across India despite a ban on multiple linked platforms and apps.

The operation allowed bets on poker and other card games, cricket, badminton, tennis, football and even election outcomes. An officer said that MOB’s user base jumped during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and has continued to grow, according to Hindustan Times

Chandrakar and Uppal began as small businessmen in Bhilai before the app expanded and drew a large user base, investigators alleged. The duo moved to the UAE in 2019 with friends and family members and ran the operation from there, ED has alleged. “Everything that carried risk in India, namely benami bank accounts, offices for panels, advertising, hawala and laundering, was outsourced to panel partners in return for a share of profit. The promoters kept control of the software, the customers and the money from a head office in Dubai,” the officer cited above said on condition of anonymity.

Scale Of The Network

ED says the structure resembled a franchise chain. Investigators alleged that MOB sold betting panels to individuals in a pyramid-like arrangement similar to multi-level marketing.

A panel usually had one owner and four workers. One person could run several panels, but had to put up ₹15 lakh as earnest money for each. “The panel operator handled all the day-to-day operations and risks, including chatting with players, collecting bets and paying out winnings,” the officer cited above said.

The scale is vast. ED has said the network runs at least 3,200 betting panels in India and the UAE, with about 1,000 WhatsApp operators working from the main call centre in the UAE. It also said 70% to 80% of a panel’s profit goes to the head office, putting monthly earnings at ₹950 crore. The agency has pegged the transactions tied to MOB and related platforms at about ₹94,000 crore and said ₹4,000 crore to ₹5,000 crore has already reached the promoters.

The probe also tracked staff and housing in Dubai. A second ED officer told Hindustan Times that the accused rented 20 villas in Dubai to house 3,500 staff, mostly youngsters from Bhilai and nearby districts of Chhattisgarh. Panels as far away as Dehradun and Punjab also employed youths from Chhattisgarh. “The core of this workforce was known as ‘checkers’. They carried out 12-hour shifts, monitoring the accounts of panels and identifying defaulters. They lived together in leased villas, to which groceries and necessities were delivered. Grocery bills in the names of these villas were recovered during the investigation,” the officer added.

Cases And Charges

The case file is already extensive. ED has filed six charge sheets against 116 people and 14 people have been arrested. CBI is probing two cases linked to MOB and has already filed a charge sheet.

CBI stated that Chandrakar was extradited from Oman on Sunday and brought to India by a special team. He is to be produced before a special court in Raipur on Monday after medical examination and transit remand. The agency stated that the Royal Oman Police detained him on the basis of an Interpol Red Corner Notice, after which CBI and ED submitted formal extradition requests backed by evidence and Oman approved the extradition. The CBI said the extradition was pursued in coordination with other central agencies and Interpol’s National Central Bureau, with assistance from Omani authorities. Chandrakar is wanted in two CBI cases in which chargesheets have been filed, as well as an ED case in which a prosecution complaint has been submitted.

He is among the key accused named in chargesheets filed under the Prevention of Corruption Act, IPC provisions relating to criminal conspiracy, cheating and forgery, and the Chhattisgarh Gambling (Prohibition) Act. Investigators also say part of the money was paid to public servants to allow the network to operate without interference, and ED has attached properties in India and abroad as part of its investigation.

The case also carries political allegations. Former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel has been named as an accused in CBI’s FIR but not in any charge sheet yet. In one of its charge sheets, ED alleged that Chandrakar and Uppal paid bribes worth ₹508 crore to Baghel. The agency searched the residence of Baghel’s advisor Vinod Verma in August 2023. Baghel has repeatedly denied the charges.