I&B Ministry cracks down on online betting advertisements, warns of legal action

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) on August 25 has issued a stern warning to all stakeholders, urging them to immediately cease showcasing advertisements, surrogate advertisements, or any form of promotional content related to online betting on any media platform. Failing compliance, the government has made it clear that appropriate legal measures will be taken.

The Ministry's action follows its earlier advisories, dating back to October 2022, when it issued comprehensive guidelines for private television channels, digital news publishers, and Over-The-Top (OTT) platforms. The advisories explicitly advised against broadcasting advertisements linked to online betting sites and their surrogate counterparts.

In June 2022, the Ministry took a proactive step by cautioning newspapers, private TV channels, and digital news publishers against publishing advertisements for online betting platforms. This series of advisories was triggered by the growing prevalence of advertisements from offshore online betting platforms, including names like Fairplay, PariMatch, Betway, Wolf 777, and 1xBet, being broadcasted on sports channels across television and OTT platforms.

The Ministry pointed out that these platforms are now exploiting news websites as a front for promoting betting platforms in the digital realm. The Ministry's investigation revealed that the logos of these surrogate news websites bear an uncanny resemblance to the branding of betting platforms. Moreover, neither the betting platforms nor the news websites are officially registered under any Indian legal authority. This manipulation has led to the blatant promotion of betting and gambling masquerading as news-based surrogate advertising.

The basis for these advisories rests on the fact that most parts of the country deem betting and gambling activities as illegal. Consequently, advertisements and surrogate promotions for these betting platforms are similarly illegal. The Ministry invoked various legislative instruments including the Consumer Protection Act of 2019, the Cable TV Network Regulation Act of 1995, and the IT Rules of 2021 to support its stance.