Government asks broadcasting platforms Not to run advertisements of offshore gambling sites

4 Oct 2022 , 09:40 AM

On Monday, the ministry of information and broadcasting requested that surrogate commercials and advertisements for online betting sites not be shown on private television channels, digital news outlets, and OTT platforms.

According to a recent recommendation from the ministry, such websites put customers, particularly young people, and children, in substantial financial and socioeconomic danger.

Newspapers, private TV networks, and digital news publishers had received a similar warning from the ministry on June 13 asking them not to run advertisements for online betting sites.

The government claimed in the alert that news websites are now being used as a stand-in for online offshore betting platforms when promoting them on digital media. The government has discovered that in certain situations, the surrogate news websites’ logos are eerily similar to betting platforms.

Furthermore, according to the ministry, neither the news websites nor the betting platforms are authorized to operate in India. These websites serve as a form of substitute advertising, promoting betting and gambling under the guise of news.

According to the ministry’s advice, as gambling and betting are prohibited in the majority of the nation’s jurisdictions, ads for these betting platforms and their substitutes are also unlawful.

The Consumer Protection Act of 2019, the Cable TV Network Regulation Act of 1995, and the IT Rules of 2021 were all referenced in the advisory. Additionally, the ministry has given online ad intermediaries advice not to target such adverts at Indian audiences.

In order to issue the advisories, the I&B ministry closely coordinated with the Department of Consumer Affairs.

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