Lahore court indicts YouTuber Ducky Bhai, others in gambling app promotion case

Lahore (Web Desk): A judicial magistrate on Monday indicted YouTuber Saadur Rehman, widely known as Ducky Bhai, his wife Aroob Jatoi and other co-accused in a case linked to the alleged promotion of gambling applications on social media platforms.

During the hearing, all the accused pleaded not guilty to the charges and announced to contest the case. 
Magistrate Naeem Wattoo instructed the prosecution to produce its witnesses at the next hearing and fixed February 23 for further proceedings.

The case was lodged by the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA), which has taken action against several YouTubers and TikTok influencers over accusations of advertising gambling and betting apps on their social media accounts.

Ducky Bhai had been arrested by the agency in August last year and was later released on bail by the Lahore High Court (LHC) on November 24.

Court records show that the case originates from an inquiry dated June 13, 2025, initiated after authorities received information from what they described as reliable sources.

The inquiry alleged that certain social media personalities were promoting gambling and betting applications to the public in return for financial benefits.

The FIR was registered under sections 13 (electronic forgery), 14 (electronic fraud), 25 (spamming) and 26 (spoofing) of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016, along with sections 294-B (offering prizes in connection with trade) and 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

In December, Ducky Bhai posted a video of nearly one hour on his YouTube channel, alleging that he was subjected to physical and verbal mistreatment while in NCCIA custody.

Earlier in October, six NCCIA officials were granted three-day physical remand after a case was registered against them on a complaint filed by Aroob Jatoi, accusing them of abusing their authority, extorting money and receiving bribes.

Meanwhile, in September, NCCIA Lahore Additional Director Sarfraz Chaudhry was removed from his post, reportedly amid multiple controversies, including allegations that he had beaten Ducky Bhai.