Streaming services including Netflix, Hotstar, Voot, Amazon Prime Video & other digital media and other Satellite TV must stop gambling and betting-related advertisements targeting the Indian audience, if done so, they should pay to face penal action. The information has been stated in an advisory from the information and broadcasting ministry on Monday.
Under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, paragraph 9 of the Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements for Misleading Advertisements 2022. It has been stated that advertisement of betting and gambling platforms are prohibited sing betting and gambling are illegal. As per the stated advisory, the ministry has observed that advertisements and promotional content related to betting are still visible on news and OTT platforms.
Advertisements of betting and gambling-related platforms are an illegal activity and are not to be shown on any digital media including streaming platforms to conform with the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021. For satellite channels, these provisions are invoked via the Advertising Code under the Cable TV Network Regulation Act of 1995.
Any violation may result in penal action under the designated law. The action has been taken due to the recent showing of advertisements of offshore betting platforms and their surrogate news websites. The advisory provided was supplemented with several proofs of advertisements including the ads of 1xBet, Fairplay, Betway, and Wolf 777.
It has been detected by the ministry that at least 26 offshore websites are majorly associated with games including football, cricket, kabaddi, and tennis among others. They primarily use surrogate news platforms/partners with news content aggregators and get a user base via Telegram groups.
