In its latest move, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has announced that there will be no more allowance to publishers and broadcasters for displaying advertisements related to online betting platforms. The ministry saw that many online betting websites/platforms were appearing in electronic, print, social, and online media. But the thing is, betting and gambling are banned in most parts of the country. Thus, the ministry said that there were concerns about advertising online betting promoting something which is largely prohibited in India and also poses a socio-economic risk for the consumers.
In addition to this, the ads related to online betting are misleading and do not even appear in strict conformity with the Consumer Protection Act 2019 and other codes of conduct.
GoI Says No More Advertising of Online Betting Platforms
The GoI has said with regard to the larger public interest that print and electronic media should refrain from publishing and advertising online betting platforms. This means that news publishers, blogs, online social media platforms and more are not to display any advertisements related to betting platforms. This is to safeguard the interest of the Indian audience and ensure that the socio-economic risks don’t get too big.