India bans online gambling ads; I&B ministry warns OTT platforms, news portals and channels

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The Indian I&B Ministry again issues an advisory to the media to refrain from publishing advertisements on online betting platforms. It says some online offshore betting platforms have started using news websites as surrogate products to advertise their betting platforms on TV channels.

After a similar advisory in June, the Indian Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has again notified news channels, digital news publishers, and OTT platforms not to allow online betting advertisements.

Observing that betting and gambling are prohibited in most parts of the country, the ministry cited IT Rules, 2021, which bans advertisements of illegal activities by digital news publishers and streaming platforms, the advertising code under the Cable TV Network Regulation Act, 1995, for TV channels, and guidelines on misleading advertisements under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

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Online betting and gambling are prohibited

The ministry called out surrogate advertising on news websites by “online offshore betting platforms” and observed that logos on several news websites were “strikingly similar” to solitaire card games or betting platforms.

For instance, India Today’s YouTube channel Sports Tak runs a news show called “Breaking by Parimatch News” Financial Express has an advertorial for FairPlay News. In contrast, DafaNews has advertorials on the Economic Times’ BrandEquity.

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The ministry’s statement cites advertorial content on several platforms such as Outlook, News18.com, Punjab News Express, the Week, and Financial Express. It also mentions 1xBet ads on Hotstar’s Livestream of an Asia Cup match and advertisements from DailyHunt.

Defaulting TV channels include Star Sports and Sony Six, which ran banner ads and carried logos of the betting platforms along with their own.

Online gambling is a much-litigated subject in India. The Tamil Nadu Cabinet recently approved an ordinance to ban online gambling in the state and is awaiting the governor’s approval.

This is even though the Madras High Court struck down a similar prohibition on online gambling activities such as rummy and poker. The Supreme Court has already issued a notice in Tamil Nadu’s petition challenging the high court judgment.

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Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and Karnataka have also sought to prohibit online gambling, but the respective high courts have struck down legislation seeking such bans.

 

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An aspiring novelist and a random blogger, Nitish is also a porky-mouthed banter specialist when it comes to football (soccer), films, TV Series, History and socio-economic issues. He travels, indulges in music and plays outdoor sports to get his creative juices flowing. “There’s the scarlet thread of murder running through the colorless skein of life, and our duty is to unravel it, and isolate it, and expose every inch of it.”- Quote this, and you will be his favorite person for at least as long as the two of you can hold up the conversation.