Euro 2020 betting | ED sends notices for cryptocurrency trading, transactions by NRIs: Report

Several individuals used debit and credit cards to bet on Euro 2020 matches for real money games (RMG). [Representative image]

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has sent out several notices in the past month pertaining to betting on Euro 2020 matches, cross border cryptocurrency trades and transactions of Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) who overstayed in the country due to COVID-19 in the last year, a report in The Economic Times said.

Citing an ED official, the report said that nearly 1000 notices have been sent by the ED in the last two months and most of the individuals under scrutiny are from Mumbai, Delhi, Pune and Bengaluru.

Several of these individuals used debit and credit cards to bet on Euro 2020 matches for real money games (RMG) remitting money to offshore platforms without surrendering pre-loaded forex cards.

Moneycontrol could not independently verify the report.

"Many have used international cards to place football bets with sites, which though legitimate services in those countries, may be considered a violation under the Foreign Exchange Management Act. The re-use of pre-loaded forex cards is mostly out of carelessness, and may not be a conscious violation," another person aware of the matter told the publication.

Several other NRIs are sent notices for transactions carried out during their long stay in India due to COVID-19 restrictions in 2020. NRIs staying for more than 182 or more days are required to pay tax on their global income.

ED is also raising questions on cross border transactions in cryptocurrencies on overseas cryptocurrency exchanges. Reportedly, using forex for online betting and gambling is considered a violation of foreign currency rules, the ambit of this is unclear in the case of cryptocurrency transactions.