Centre asks OTT platforms to stop betting advertisements

The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting asked digital news media and OTT platforms to refrain from carrying online betting advertisements.

In a new advisory, the ministry said such sites pose significant financial and socio-economic risks for consumers, especially youth and children.

“The concerned betting platforms and the corresponding news websites are not registered with any legal authority under Indian laws,” the advisory said. “Accordingly, the online betting platforms appear to be promoting betting and gambling under the garb of news as surrogate advertising.”

“In accordance with Paragraph 9 of the Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements 2022 under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, ads of online betting and gambling platforms are prohibited. In this regard, in accordance with the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics) Rules 2021, ads of betting platforms cannot be shown on digital media," the advisory said.

Contravention and violation may invite penal action under applicable laws, it warned. The Advisories were supplemented with evidences which contained direct and surrogate advertisements of offshore betting platforms such as Fairplay, PariMatch, Betway, Wolf 777, and 1xBet,” the ministry said in a press statement.