Introduction: The Government of India, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, issued Advisory No. DM/15/2022-DM on 3rd October 2022, emphasizing the ban on advertisements related to online betting platforms on private satellite television channels.
Detailed Analysis:
1. Background and Previous Advisory: The Ministry previously issued an advisory on 13th June 2022, urging TV channels to refrain from promoting online betting platforms due to the potential financial and socio-economic risks, particularly for youth and children.
2. Surrogate Advertising Tactics: The recent development reveals that some offshore betting platforms are resorting to surrogate advertising through news websites to promote their platforms on TV channels. This unethical practice aims to circumvent regulations and reach a wider audience.
3. Illegal Nature of Betting and Gambling: The advisory emphasizes that betting and gambling are illegal in most parts of India. As per the Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, advertisements for online offshore betting and gambling platforms are also considered illegal.
4. Surrogate News Websites: Online betting platforms are utilizing news websites with logos strikingly similar to their own, operating without legal registration under Indian laws. The Department of Consumer Affairs has identified these platforms advertising as professional sports blogs or sports news websites.
5. Non-Conformity with Laws: The advertisements of news websites, acting as surrogates for online offshore betting platforms, do not align with the Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements for Misleading Advertisements 2022 and the Advertising Code under the Cable TV Network Regulation Act 1995.
6. Government’s Strong Advisory: In the interest of larger public welfare and in line with previous advisories, private satellite television channels are strongly advised against broadcasting advertisements for online offshore betting platforms or their surrogate news websites. Non-compliance may result in penal actions under applicable laws.
Conclusion: The Government’s Advisory No. DM/15/2022-DM serves as a stern warning to private satellite television channels, emphasizing the illegal nature of promoting online betting platforms and the deceptive tactics employed by offshore platforms. Compliance with the advisory is crucial to avoid legal consequences and uphold the larger public interest.
Also Read: CCPA Advisory: Ban on Illegal Gambling Advertisements
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No. DM/15/2022-DM
Government of India
Ministry of Information & Broadcasting
A Wing, Shastri Bhawan
New Delhi-110001
Dated 3rd October, 2022
ADVISORY
To
Private Satellite Television Channels
Subject: Advisory on Advertisements of Online Betting Platforms
Attention is invited to the Advisory dated 13.06.2022 (copy enclosed) issued by this Ministry to Private Satellite TV channels advising them to refrain from publishing advertisements of online betting platforms. The Advisory had been issued for the reason that betting and gambling is prohibited in most parts of the country, and pose significant financial and socio-economic risk for the consumers, especially youth and children. Accordingly, the promotion of offline or online betting/gambling through advertisements is not advised in larger public interest.
2. It has now come to the notice of this Ministry that some online offshore betting platforms have started using news websites as a surrogate product to advertise their betting platforms on TV channels. Exemplars of such surrogate advertising on TV channels are enclosed at Exhibit-I.
3. Betting and gambling is an illegal activity in most parts of India. In accordance with the Paragraph 9 of the Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements for Misleading Advertisements 2022 under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, it has been observed that since betting and gambling is illegal, advertisements of online offshore betting and gambling platforms are also illegal. In this regard, it may be noted that in accordance with the Advertising Code under Cable TV Network Regulation Act 1995, advertisements of betting platforms, being an illegal activity, can not be shown on TV channels.
4. In respect of the advertisements of the surrogate news websites operated by the online betting platforms, it may be mentioned that the logos of the concerned news websites are strikingly similar to the betting platform. The concerned betting platforms, and the corresponding news websites, are also not registered with any legal authority under Indian laws. Accordingly, the online offshore betting platforms appear to be promoting betting and gambling under the garb of news as surrogate advertising. In this regard, the
Department of Consumer Affairs has also informed that online betting platforms have been advertising themselves as professional sports blogs, sports news websites, etc. while providing an indicative list of online betting platforms which are using news for surrogate advertising.
5. Having regard to the provisions of the Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements for Misleading Advertisements 2022 under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 read with the Advertising Code under Cable TV Network Regulation Act 1995, it is informed that advertisements of concerned news websites which are in fact surrogate advertisements for online offshore betting platforms, do not appear to be in strict conformity with these laws.
6. In light of the Ministry’s Advisory dated 13.06.2022 and the above, and having regard to the larger public interest involved, the private satellite television channels are strongly advised to refrain from broadcasting advertisements of online offshore betting platforms and/or their surrogate news websites or any such product/service depicting these platforms in a surrogate manner.
7. Contravention/violation of the above may invite penal action under the applicable laws.
8 This issues with the approval of the competent authority in the Ministry.
03/10/2o22
(Kshitij Aggarwal)
Assistant Director (Digital Media)
Email: kshitij.aggarwal@gov.in
Copy to:
i. Secretary, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Government of India
ii. Self-Regulatory Bodies under Cable Television Network (Amendment) Rules, 2021
iii. Secretary, Advertising Standards Council of India
Copy to be placed at Broadcast Seva Portal for information of all Private Satellite Television Channels
