India Asks Google To Stop Ads Of Foreign Online Betting Companies

India has reportedly asked internet major Google to stop displaying all kinds of ads from overseas online betting companies such as Betway, 1xBet and others.

The move comes two months after the Centre asked broadcasters and video streaming services to drop advertisements promoting online betting. The order said that online betting ads were banned in India and that flouting the norms would invite penalties.

In June 2022, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) also issued an advisory for TV channels, newspapers and digital media outlets, asking them to ‘refrain from publishing advertisements’ of online betting platforms.

According to a Mint report, the ministry has sent a letter to Google India asking the internet giant to immediately drop all advertising endorsing these betting platforms.

Per a senior ministry official cited in the aforementioned report, the ministry noted that ads endorsing online betting platforms were running on YouTube and Google, hence it asked the internet major to stop these ads immediately.

The Indian government has been moving to curtail online betting and gambling in the country, as concerns from the socioeconomic, financial and security angles remain. 

According to recent media reports, the government’s planned regulation of online gaming will apply to all real-money games. The Prime Minister’s office recently rejected a proposal to leave out games of chance, according to a Reuters report citing sources.

How Offshore Online Betting Platforms Advertise

The Ministry said that multiple online betting platforms were using news websites as surrogate products to advertise their platforms.

In other words, these offshore betting platforms were advertising themselves as ‘professional sports blogs’ and ‘sports news websites’ while operating as betting platforms. In a press statement in October, the MIB noted the same, adding that the logos of such websites ‘bear a striking resemblance’ to the betting platforms.

The Ministry specifically pointed out offshore betting platforms such as Fairplay, PariMatch, Betway, Wolf 777, and 1xBet for employing direct and surrogate methods to woo users. Many of these betting platforms also appear as sponsors of many high-profile sports teams across sports such as football and cricket.

For instance, 1xBet sponsors popular teams such as FC Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain (which have a significant fanbase in India) and is also the sponsor of Italy’s top-flight football league, Serie A.

Further, many betting platforms appear as sponsors on multiple English Premier League (EPL) teams, which is also a league with a high viewership in India.

According to the All India Gaming Federation (AIGF), which has been lobbying against online betting platforms, how these platforms appeal to the psyche of the customers is concerning. AIGF added that the advisories from the MIB and the ministry of consumer affairs have helped reduce offshore gambling ads.