The Indian Enforcement Directorate (ED) has intensified its investigation into Karnataka Congress MLA K.C. Veerendra, also known as “Puppy,” over alleged involvement in a large-scale money laundering and illegal betting operation. The legislator, arrested in Sikkim on Saturday, August 23, was brought to Bengaluru on Sunday for further questioning in connection with financial transactions tied to casinos in Sri Lanka, Nepal and Georgia.

Veerendra was apprehended in Gangtok, where he had reportedly been pursuing a deal to lease land for a casino venture. After his arrest, he was produced before a special court in Bengaluru, which granted ED custody until August 28. To prevent any incidents during his transfer, strict security was enforced at Kempegowda International Airport, and he was quickly escorted to an undisclosed location for interrogation.

Authorities confirmed that multi-state raids preceded the arrest, covering 31 locations across India, including Bengaluru, Hubballi, Chitradurga, Goa, Jodhpur, Mumbai and Sikkim. Five casinos in Goa—Puppy’s Casino Gold, Ocean Rivers Casino, Puppy’s Casino Pride, Ocean 7 Casino, and Big Daddy Casino—were also raided as part of the ongoing probe.

According to ED sources, preliminary findings suggest that Veerendra maintained financial links with casinos and shell companies operating in Sri Lanka, Nepal and Georgia. Evidence gathered during the raids points to overseas transactions and the use of foreign entities to launder large sums of money, some of which may have originated from cyber fraud. Officials suspect that these funds were “converted into white money” by being disguised as credit card transactions.

Documents recovered from multiple properties also revealed that Veerendra was in the process of finalising a deal to acquire a casino from Santiago Martin, a businessman widely recognised as the “lottery king” of Tamil Nadu. Martin is already under investigation by the ED in a separate money laundering case and is known for his financial ties to political figures.

Incriminating evidence seized from Veerendra’s residences, including Rs 12 crore in cash and a significant quantity of jewelry, is now being analysed. The ED has also uncovered records suggesting that his brother, K.C. Thippeswamy, managed three Dubai-based entities—Diamond Softech, TRS Technologies and Prime9Technologies—believed to be connected to their gaming and call centre businesses.

In a move set to reshape the B2B gaming landscape across LatAm and other regulated markets worldwide, FIRST, Light & Wonder (L&W), and OpenTag today unveiled a landmark alliance. This move merges FIRST’s Tier 1 sportsbook, L&W’s original content capabilities and powerhouse aggregation, and OpenTag’s fully integrated platform solution. 10Bet has become the first major operator to sign within the framework – deploying the combined suite across multiple jurisdictions.

FIRST will deliver its high-performance sportsbook, renowned for its latency-free pricing, robust risk controls, and seamless scalability, positioning operators for maximum margin and player retention.

Light & Wonder, the content and aggregation powerhouse, and home to ELK and L&W studios, will provide the global content for the alliance. ELK pushes mathematics and artwork boundaries and produces hits such as the Pirots series, while L&W studios is known for successful in-house franchises like Huff N‘ Puff. Light & Wonder will also provide the game aggregation platform that will open up extensive possibilities for third party content, enabling a truly limitless casino offering. 

OpenTag’s agile platform ties everything together – streamlining integration, compliance and player experience, offering a single point of control for sportsbook, casino, and live content.

10Bet Head of Marketing, Yuval Klein commented:

“This partnership gives us unmatched access to world-class sportsbooks, elite gaming content, and a rock-solid platform backbone. We can use this offering to expand into new markets, delivering consistent, high-quality experiences and grab market share.

This strategic combination marks the first deployment of a truly comprehensive B2B offering – spanning sportsbook, casino aggregation, original content, and platform – under one integrated deal.”

Magdalena Podhorska Okolow, VP Commercial MD Europe at Light & Wonder, added:

“Light & Wonder is thrilled to have been selected to provide casino content exclusively to operators that will benefit from this best-in-class sports and casino turnkey package. We continue to prioritize LatAm and partner with highly respected, proven providers such as FIRST. We are proud that L&W’s gaming aggregation technology will help set a new standard in the turnkey service that targets operators with the highest ambitions and growth plans.

Tom_________, CEO of FIRST, said:

“By combining FIRST’s sportsbook excellence, L&W’s game innovation and aggregator tech, and OpenTag’s full platform suite, we are delivering Tier 1 solution architecture under one unified partnership. 10Bet’s fast adoption across multiple jurisdictions demonstrates both the global demand and turnkey readiness of our offering.

With the 10Bet integration underway, this partnership signals a new era of Tier 1 B2B engagement – fast to market, easy to deploy, and built for scale in emerging regulated gaming territories.”