The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with three different organizations to combat illegal gambling advertisements from offshore entities.
This collaboration announced by the advertising regulatory body involves the Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS), the All India Gaming Federation (AIGF), and the E-Gaming Federation (EGF).
In India, gambling and offshore betting activities are prohibited, meaning their services are not allowed to be advertised. Overall, skill-based online real money games (RMG) are permitted, which means their advertisements are also allowed.
The MoU took effect in early January, aiming to establish a special monitoring unit to report offshore gambling advertisements, while closely monitoring real money gaming advertisements that violate ASCI guidelines.
Since the collaboration of these four organizations began, ASCI has reported 413 advertisements from offshore gambling entities and handled 492 cases related to real money gaming.
Worth noting: Manav Bhargava, head of the India division at Segev LLP, discussed the potential of iGaming in India in the latest issue of Gambling Insider magazine.
ASCI CEO and Secretary General Manisha Kapoor stated: "Indian consumers are exposed to a large number of advertisements from offshore gambling and betting companies, which bear no responsibility in India. Some Indian celebrities have also appeared in such advertisements.
"Since gambling advertisements are banned in most parts of the country, the widespread appearance of gambling advertisements is illegal. ASCI hopes to submit such advertisements to regulatory authorities for necessary action.
"Equally important is that the advertising of the gaming industry in India is legal and must comply with ASCI rules. We welcome the proactive cooperation of the gaming associations with the self-regulatory body to create a special oversight group for the industry."
