Vijay Deverakonda, Prakash Raj Address Allegations Over Betting App Promotions

HYDERABAD, (ANI)- Actors Vijay Deverakonda and Prakash Raj have issued clarifications following allegations that they promoted illegal betting and gambling apps through their social media platforms.

Deverakonda’s team clarified that he had signed a contract as a brand ambassador for a skill-based gaming company and endorsed it only in regions where such games were legally permitted.

“This is to inform the public that Vijay Deverakonda’s endorsement was strictly confined to territories where online skill-based games are legal. Games like rummy have been repeatedly recognized by the Honorable Supreme Court of India as skill-based rather than chance-based, making them lawful,” the statement read.

On the same day, Prakash Raj posted a video stating that he had once endorsed a gaming app in 2016 but later chose not to renew his contract.

“I did an ad for a gaming app, but within a few months, I felt it wasn’t right, even though it was legal. I let the contract expire and refused renewal. Since then, I have not promoted any online gambling apps,” Raj explained.

He also mentioned that in 2021-22, the company that previously featured him was sold, and old snippets of his endorsement resurfaced on social media. “We sent a legal notice, and they stopped using my image,” he added.

The Telangana police have filed an FIR against 25 celebrities and influencers, including Deverakonda, Raj, and Manchu Lakshmi, for allegedly promoting illegal betting apps after a complaint from 32-year-old businessman PM Phanindra Sarma, who claimed that social media endorsements had influenced many young individuals to invest in these apps.

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