Mumbai, 18 February (IANS). The Advertisement Standards Council of India (ASCI) on Tuesday joined the Offshore institutions to cooperate with the online gaming industry to deal with the issue of illegal betting and gambling advertisements.
ASCI signed an MoU with the Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS), All India Gaming Federation (AIGF) and E-Gaming Federation (EGF).
The purpose of this agreement is to protect consumers from misleading advertisements.
Under this initiative, a special monitoring cell has been created to track illegal offshore betting advertisements and report to the concerned ministries.
This cell will also review real-mani gaming (RMG) advertisements to ensure that they are following the ASCI advertising guidelines.
Its goal is to highlight illegal advertisements and ensure compliance within the RMG industry.
Manisha Kapoor, CEO and general secretary of ASCI, said, “Indian consumers are in touch with many advertisements of offshore betting and gambling companies, which have no accountability in India.”
He said that many Indian celebrities have also been part of such advertisements, as gambling advertisements are banned in most parts of the country, so their mass presence is a violation of law.
Kapoor said, “ASCI would like to bring such advertisements to the regulators for necessary action. We welcome the active initiative of gaming associations to work with self-regulators to create a special monitoring cell for the industry.”
Since January 2025, ASCI has flagged 413 offshore betting advertisements to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
In addition, 12 advertisements related to real-mani gaming have been reviewed for possible violations of ASCI guidelines.
Rolland Landers, CEO of All India Gaming Federation, said, “As the oldest and largest industry federation, AIGF has been at the forefront of advocating responsible gaming practices, removing the danger of offshore and illegal betting and gambling.”
ASCI flagged 1,336 similar advertisements between April 2023 and March 2024, after which the ministry took action against some platforms.
During the same period, ASCI also investigated 492 real-mani gaming advertisements.
Many states have strict laws against gambling and offshore betting, making advertisements illegal for these activities.
However, skill-based online real-mani game is allowed under most state laws.
These games can be advertised, but companies should follow strict guidelines to mislead consumers or to avoid gambling as a source of income.
Anurag Saxena, CEO of the e-gaming federation, said, “Indian citizens have been cheated by dishonest operators for years. This has caused losses to consumers, domestic industry as well as the country.”
-IANS
SKT/ABM
