ASCI Reports Surge In Illegal Betting Ads, Highlights Surrogate Advertising

The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) flagged and reported 700 advertisements from illegal betting and gambling companies to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) between April and August 2024. Real Money Gaming (RMG) stakeholders have alleged that offshore illegal gambling firms have been exploiting the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) as a platform for surrogate advertising, as per media reports.

In a letter addressed to Sanjay Jaju, Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB), Real Money Gaming (RMG) players have raised alarms about illegal and offshore betting platforms such as Melbet, Dafabet, Vegas11, Fun88 and 1xBet. These platforms are reportedly engaging in surrogate advertising under names like Melbat, Dafanews, Vegas11 Sports News, Fun88 News, 1xbat and Batery.AI.

The RMG operators also allege that Dafa News, a surrogate of Dafabet based in the Philippines and Parimatch News, a surrogate of Parimatch based in Cyprus are official partners of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL). They further claim that these platforms enable users to place bets on live PKL matches.

In 2024, the Pro Kabaddi League surpassed 200 million viewers during its 90th match, making Kabaddi the second sport, after cricket, to achieve this milestone multiple times. The 11th season of the PKL is set to commence on 18 October 2024.

Manisha Kapoor, CEO and Secretary General of ASCI stated, “We have raised the issue of betting and gambling firms advertisements with the MIB. We report it to the government by sending them ad links. We have also noted that in some cases, the links are not active anymore and the content has been pulled off by the platforms on being directed to do so by the government.”

“In the 2023-24 financial year, we identified 1,311 ads for illegal betting and gambling. From April to August 2024, we have shared 700 such ads with the government”, she added.

The Advertising Standards Council of India's (ASCI) firm stance against the promotion of illegal betting and gambling companies has been met with approval. They urged the government to take stricter action upon receiving such complaints. Additionally, there are plans to approach the MIB through gaming federations to request that an advisory be issued to broadcasters and streaming platforms to address surrogate advertising by these platforms, as per sources.

On Monday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman declared that GST revenue from online gaming has surged by 412 per cent over the past six months since the introduction of a 28 per cent tax on these services starting 1 October 2023.

“As an industry, we are paying taxes to the government, while these offshore illegal betting and gambling companies are growing their user base through surrogate advertising and marketing strategies. If this issue is not addressed, many RMG companies will be forced to shut down”, said a spokesperson from RMG company.

In a media briefing, Sitharaman revealed that revenue from online gaming has skyrocketed by 412 per cent, totaling Rs 6,909 crore in just six months. This contrasts sharply with the Rs 1,349 crore collected prior to the notification on online gaming.