Following instructions from the Center that Google should cease displaying adverts for betting organizations to customers in India, the internet giant said on Wednesday that it does not permit any advertisements that encourage online gambling.
According to the sources, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting sent a letter to Google last week requesting that the company immediately remove any direct or indirect advertising from betting sites that appear in search results and on YouTube.
A spokeswoman for the firm issued the following statement to IANS: “By our Ads Policies and the local laws and regulations that are in effect, we do not permit any ads that encourage live betting in India.
According to a Google official, “we have strict standards in place across all of our advertising platforms. We avoid breaches, and take swift action whenever we are made aware of advertisements that violate those policies.”
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting For Online Betting
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has requested that Google abide by its recommendation to desist from posting or broadcasting ads on online betting platforms or any surrogate product portraying them. This request comes after the Ministry issued the advisory.
Following the Ministry's discovery of violations of a previous advisory on June 13, 2022, it decided to issue the most recent guideline in October. In addition, the Ministry discovered after discovering that specific offshore betting platforms had begun using news websites to advertise betting platforms on television channels as surrogate products.
The Department of Consumer Affairs had also explained to the Ministry that online betting platforms advertise themselves as professional sports news websites. They provide an indicative list of online betting platforms using news for advertising. The Department of Consumer Affairs informed the Ministry that online betting platforms represent themselves as being licensed to conduct gambling.
The Ministry said that advertisements on news websites that were surrogate promotions did not appear to be in strict compliance. They are under law when taken in conjunction with the Cable TV Network Regulation Act's Advertising Code and the Consumer Protection Act's Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisements.
Applause for the decision
The All India Gaming Federation (AIGF) expressed their satisfaction with the Ministry of Finance's decision to issue stern cautions against ads for Live sports Betting for real money. “While actions by the Ministry of Information have reduced advertising on TV channels and OTTs, these anti-national platforms are still advertising heavily on all major social media platforms. Online advertising platforms of big tech, using major sports and entertainment personalities. It shows in the statement that was released on Monday's broadcast.
Roland Landers, the Federation's chief executive officer, said, “In our perspective, one of the most troubling parts of these offshore websites is how they market and sell their unlawful items.” For example, they had been pushing adverts nonstop during the broadcasts of athletic events on television channels and over-the-top platforms (OTT). In addition to this, they have been leveraging out-of-home (OOH), print, and digital media, in addition to their sponsorship of various sports teams competing in Indian leagues, to infiltrate the psyche of the Indian customer further. Even influential people from the worlds of sports and entertainment are getting behind these items, and that's saying something.
He said that the information he had seen indicated that illicit offshore gambling websites were spending an estimated 3.500 crore rupees on advertising in many forms. But, according to Mr. Landers, “if we consider sponsorships and influencer marketing, this value may grow to about 5,000 crores.”
More than one hundred online gaming firms specializing in e-sports, fantasy gaming, card games, casual gaming, and other forms are now members of the AIGF, the apex industry association for online gaming in India. These companies have a combined user base that is over 400 million strong.
The Indian government's stance on the legality of online gambling apps
On paper, gambling applications are not considered unlawful; particularly games focused on abilities rather than luck. The states of Nagaland, Sikkim, and Kerala all permit online gambling applications inside their borders, although these apps are subject to stringent regulations (only skill-based games are allowed). For the applications to be legally used in certain states, they must hold the appropriate licenses. The conditions of Telangana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh, along with Tamil Nadu, have all passed legislation that prohibits the use of gambling applications inside their borders.
Individuals continue to use gambling apps despite their illegality in Goa, even though West Bengal does not have any legislation that may stop people from using online gambling applications. Every state has its own set of regulations on gaming, but the Public Gambling Act of 1867 is the sole federal law on the subject.
These statutes are governed by the Information Technology Act of 2000. It does not prosecute anybody related to gambling applications. Nevertheless, it does not permit access to some overseas and unlawful websites that are capable of causing damage to individuals in evil ways. The government is prepared to stop at nothing to shut down these websites.
Closing Remarks
A public interest litigation (PIL) lawsuit against the Dream 11 App has been submitted to the Bombay High Court. The petitioner accuses the App of engaging in tax fraud. On the other hand, the court rejected the petition because the contested application was a game of skill rather than chance. Similarly, the FIR that was filed against the founders of Dream 11 was thrown out by the High Court of Karnataka. The Karnataka Police Department has asserted that a provision of the Karnataka Police (Amendment) Act is violated by the App in question.
