Hyderabad: Soon after Cyberabad police booked Tollywood stars for promoting betting apps, at least three of them issued clarifications stating that they had discontinued their association with the companies long back.
Rana Daggubati said in a statement that he had agreed to act as its brand ambassador for skill-based games, which expired in 2017. His endorsement was limited to regions where online skill-based games were legally permitted. The statement added that Rana’s legal team reviewed all partnerships before agreements were made. After a legal review, he agreed to endorse the platform, ensuring full compliance with the law.
“It is essential to highlight that these online games have been recognised by the Supreme Court as distinct from gambling. The court has ruled that these games are based on skill, not chance, and are therefore legally allowed,” the statement read.
Responding to the case, Prakash Raj in a video released on his X account said that police officials had not yet reached out to him. “I am ready to cooperate with the police,” he said. “I would also like to clarify that I have done one project with a firm in 2016, but after realising its motive I withdrew from it and did not extend the contract in 2017. In 2021 too when the firm was taken over by another firm and they used the same commercial, I issued notices to them, and they stopped using the commercial.”
Vijay Deverakonda’s team too issued a statement saying he had signed a contract with a company to be the brand ambassador for skill-based games and his endorsement was confined to regions where online skill-based games were legally permitted. The contract expired in 2023.
Vijay’s legal team too reviewed all associations before entering into agreements, read the statement. After a thorough legal review, he had agreed to endorse the skill-based gaming platform. His statement too said that skill-based games, including online games such as rummy, were recognised by the Supreme Court as distinct from gambling or gaming.