Govt Issues Advisory To News Publishers, OTTs On Ads Of Online Betting Platforms

MIB Advisory: Ministry of Information and Broadcasting issues a 'Advisory on Advertisement of Online Betting Platforms' to digital media publishers of news and current affairs content.

MIB Issued Advisory To Not To Publish Advertisements For Online Betting Platforms (Representational Image/AFP) ( Image Source :AFP )

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) issued an advisory on Monday to digital media publishers of news and current affairs content, advising them not to publish advertisements for online betting platforms on online and social media. The Centre issued advisories to news websites, OTT platforms, and private satellite channels. It also warned private satellite television channels of penal action under applicable laws for violation of the advisory. The formal advisory was shared on Twitter by the Ministry's official account.

📢 Ministry of Information and Broadcasting issues 'Advisory on Advertisement of Online Betting Platforms' to publishers of news & current affairs content on digital media and publishers of online curated content (OTT Platforms)

➡️ For more details👇 pic.twitter.com/4JAFTpLwyH

— Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (@MIB_India) October 3, 2022

“...the private satellite television channels are strongly advised to refrain advertisements of online offshore betting platforms and/or their surrogate news websites or any such product/service depicting these platforms in a surrogate manner,” the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting advisory said.

In a separate advisory to publishers of news and current affairs content on digital media and OTT platforms, the ministry issued a similar directive and asked them not to target such advertisements towards the Indian audience, reports news agency PTI. 

The advisory also states that betting and gambling are illegal in most parts of India. According to Section 9 of the Guidelines for the Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements for Misleading Advertisements 2022 under the Consumer Protection Act of 2019, since betting is illegal, advertisements for online offshore betting gambling platforms are also illegal.

The Gambling Act, also known as the Public Gambling Act 1867, is the general law that governs gambling in India. Because most gambling legislations were enacted prior to the advent of online or virtual gambling or betting, gambling legislations primarily refer to gambling activities in physical form.