Indian Ministry of Information and Broadcasting issues new ban on online gambling advertising
Citing the potential risk to customers, the Ministry has brought in a new ban across all forms of print and social media
The Indian Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has issued a new and immediate ban on online gambling advertising across print and online, including social media.
The Ministry published an advisory to all advertisement publishers that they should not display any adverts for online gambling in India or target such adverts toward the Indian public.
In the advisory document, the Ministry said: “The advertisements of online betting are misleading, and do not appear to be in strict conformity with the Consumer Protection Act 2019, Advertising Code under the Cable Television Networks Regulation Act, 1995, and advertisement norms under the Norms of Journalistic Conduct laid down by the Press Council of India under the Press Council Act, 1978.”
This new guidance comes after a meeting between the Ministry and the Ministries of Consumer Affairs and Electronics & IT as well as the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), News Broadcasters Association (NBA), Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), All India Gaming Federation (AIGF), Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS) and The Online Rummy Federation (TORF).
The Ministry said that betting and gambling is illegal in most of India because it poses a significant risk and can lead to financial and socio-economic harm to consumers.
This move comes after the government published new guidance for broadcasters in November 2020 which stated that broadcasters should not depict any person under 18 years of age in the ads and must carry a warning about the risks of gambling.