Gambling advertisements are infiltrating popular mobile games in Bangladesh, exposing millions of people, including young users, to gambling content through Google's network.
Research by Dismislab shows that gambling ads have entered mobile gaming apps in Bangladesh, circumventing regulatory restrictions and Google's advertising policies.
Despite not being approved in Bangladesh, real money gambling advertisements have flooded into popular gaming platforms used by millions of Bangladeshi players, displaying gambling promotions to them through Google's network.
Dismislab's research monitored the country's six most downloaded mobile games—Ludo King, Carrom Pool, Football League 2024, Pizza Ready, 8 Ball Pool, and Cricket League—over 30 hours.
The results show that nearly one in every 11 ads in these games is related to gambling, with Football League 2024 and 8 Ball Pool having the most concentrated gambling content.
Advertisements are often disguised as harmless games or entertainment promotions, but redirect users to gambling sites after interaction.
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These games attract a wide variety of audiences, including minors who frequently play games, making them particularly vulnerable to these ads.
Dismislab states that this creates an environment for gambling companies to promote betting behavior cleverly embedding ads in spaces where users are highly engaged and usually willing to watch ads for in-game rewards.
The study found that many players are repeatedly exposed to these promotions during long gaming sessions, with some games displaying up to 15 gambling ads in an hour.
Unregulated gambling promotions on the Google network
The study indicates that despite Bangladesh's ban on such gambling promotions, 42% of the ads carry Google's "Google Ads" label. Google's advertising policy restricts gambling ads to certified advertisers in specific countries/regions, and Bangladesh is not among them.
Nevertheless, platforms like 1XBet, Babu88, and Batery continue to use alternative advertising strategies to promote their services to Bangladeshi users, often disguising gambling promotions as unrelated games or apps.
For example, ads for Super Avia Fly and Bonanza Love initially appear as arcade or adventure games but redirect to gambling sites after download.
In addition to Google, Dismislab also found that other advertising networks such as Chartboost, Mintegral, and Unity Ads are placing gambling ads, despite these networks' regulations to comply with local laws.
Legal loopholes and lax enforcement
While Bangladesh's legal framework includes a prohibition on gambling, outdated legislation does not comprehensively cover online gambling. The main regulation is the Gambling Act of 1867, which restricts physical gambling venues but lacks provisions for digital gambling.
Although the High Court made a ruling on online gambling advertisements in December 2022, the implementation of this directive is limited.
The efforts by the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) and financial service providers to curb access to gambling sites and stop payments have also been largely ineffective. In June 2024, the former Minister of Posts, Telecommunications, and Information Technology revealed that about 5 million Bangladeshis are active on various gambling sites.
However, despite attempts to block 2,600 gambling platforms, Dismislab's findings emphasize that another 3,000 sites remain active, hosted on government domains.
