- April 27, 2025
When you think of Ranbir Kapoor or Sanjay Dutt, you associate their names with blockbuster movies, red carpets, and the largest fan following, not something as shady as a streaming scam. But at IPL 2023, the fair-play scandal became a story where some of Bollywood’s biggest stars, along with well-known sports representatives, found themselves completely unaware of playing the role of brand ambassadors for one of the largest streaming infringements. This is the Fair play scandal; a story where all that glitters is not gold, as the glitz, glamour, and gullibility weaved its ugly head, through fraud and financial crime, ending up having cricket fans ripped off in the background.
How Celebrities Helped Fair Play Build Its Fake Image
Fair play hasn’t just live-streamed IPL matches illegally, it has sold a dream. And who better to sell a dream than the stars themselves? Household names like Ranbir Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Jacqueline Fernandez, and Varun Dhawan, sporting stars like Saina Nehwal, AB de Villiers, take a buy-in of various colorful campaigns.
The scam was clever: Fair play deceptively created an illusion of trust by using the endorsement of top celebrities. If Ranbir and Shraddha were talking about it, then it must be something legitimate, right? That was the audience’s mindset, which they were hoping for. It wasn’t only traditional ads: social media posts, YouTube videos, Insta reels–they were everywhere. The audience assumed Fair Play had a very official partnership since familiar faces endorsed it. What the audience saw was all smoke and mirrors, while the real owners operated from Dubai under the radar.
The Web of Deception: How Fair Play Masked Its True Colors
If Bollywood was the bait, dodgy overseas businesses were the net that caught the money. The ED noted that Fairplay’s masterminds utilized companies in Curacao, Dubai, and Malta to conceal their real business operations. Money from illegal IPL streaming and betting – a sum of over ₹ 4000 crore – was circulated through innumerable bank accounts.
In addition to illegally live-streaming matches, Fair Play also ran illegal betting rings for everything from football matches to elections. They also advertised “Watch IPL for Free”, ultimately reaching millions of cricket fans who thought they were getting a great deal. Sports fans had no idea they were funding an enormous crime syndicate. They were sending money overseas, disguised as payments for fake imports, and it would come back to buy properties and assets in India. This was not an issue of copyright violation, it was a money laundering scheme.
What This Means for Celebrities, Brands, and Fans
All of this mess gets into a bigger discussion: how much responsibility do celebrities have when endorsing a brand? Yes, most probably didn’t realize Fair play was illegal, but the fact that they were involved gave the platform a lot of credibility. Fans believed in Fair play, not because of what it did, but because their favorite stars were attached to it. That trust was weaponized.
With great power comes great responsibility, and brands and influencers have more power than ever. It’s so critical to be diligent these days. There are no innocent ads or promotions anymore. If something goes wrong or is shady, that’s a hit to the brand or celebrity’s integrity. In a time when scams, frauds, and misinformation are rampant, who endorses you means a lot, not just in terms of your brand’s value, but in terms of your story.
The Fair Play IPL scandal is about more than just one illegal streaming service—it is a cautionary tale for the sports and entertainment industry. When celebrities lend their faces without facts, the consequences can be huge—and not just for them, but for millions of trusting fans. With things settling down, the big question is: in a world where fame makes and breaks brands in an instant, should stars think twice about where to shine their light?
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