The ongoing controversy concerning the endorsement of gambling and betting apps by certain celebrities has become a huge talking point. A section of the media and some commentators are using the opportunity to run down film celebrities (and budding social media influencers). The image of the Telugu film industry will take a slight beating because of the ongoing controversy.
In a recent video statement, politician and evangelist KA Paul demanded that celebrities guilty of endorsing the apps in exchange for millions of rupees of remuneration must not be spared. "There are instances of suicide because of people losing lakhs of rupees on gambling and online betting. In the Sandhya Theatre stampede case, Allu Arjun was let off after Rs 100 Cr was shelled out. Such a thing should not happen in the betting apps case," he alleged. The credibility of KA Paul is nothing, but his videos go viral online quite often. They can shape public perceptions.
A start-up YouTube channel has interviewed a middle-aged man who lost Rs 85 lakh on a betting app about which he had come to know while watching a talk show hosted by a prominent Tollywood star hero who is also an MLA. The highlighting of this aspect by the channel says it all.
Ananya Nagalla, who was named in a recent police complaint, has boldly questioned how any celebrity would think it is a crime to endorse a betting app that "state properties" like the Hyderabad Metro advertise about.
This is not to say that celebrities must not be investigated or interrogated. The point is that the media is jumping the gun. Vijay Deverakonda and Rana Daggubati, for example, have claimed that they had only endorsed legal skill-based games. Prakash Raj too has clarified that his face and name were used illegitimately by a betting app without his consent, sometime in 2022.
