Refrain From Advertising Online Betting Platforms, I&B Ministry Tells Media

The Information and Broadcasting Ministry on Monday suggested the print, digital and digital media to chorus from promoting on-line betting platforms, saying betting and playing are unlawful in “most parts” of the nation and pose important monetary and socio-economic threat for customers.
The ministry mentioned the advisory has been issued in bigger public curiosity and comes within the mild of cases of a variety of commercials of on-line betting web sites/platforms showing in print, digital, social and on-line media.

It has suggested the print and digital media to chorus from publishing commercials of on-line betting platforms. It has additionally suggested the net and social media, together with on-line commercial intermediaries and publishers, to not show such commercials in India or goal such commercials in direction of the Indian viewers.

“Betting and gambling, illegal in most parts of the country, pose significant financial and socio-economic risk for the consumers, especially youth and children, the advisory states.

These advertisements on online betting have the effect of promoting “this largely prohibited exercise”, according to a ministry statement.

In its advisory, the ministry noted that advertisements of online betting are “deceptive” and they do not “look like” in strict conformity with the Consumer Protection Act 2019, Advertising Code under the Cable Television Networks Regulation Act, 1995, and advertisement norms under the Norms of Journalistic Conduct laid down by the Press Council of India under the Press Council Act, 1978.

The ministry said it had issued an advisory to private satellite TV channels on December 4, 2020 asking them to adhere to the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) guidelines on advertisements of online gaming, “which contained particular Do’s and Don’ts for static/print and audio-visual commercials of on-line gaming.”

The ASCI guidelines, which came into effect from December 15, 2020, stipulated that no gaming advertisement would depict any person, under the age of 18 years or the person who appears to be under the age of 18, engaged in playing a game of “on-line gaming for actual cash winnings”, or suggest that such persons can play these games.

“The commercials mustn’t current ‘on-line gaming for actual cash winnings’ as an earnings alternative or an alternate employment choice,” the guidelines said, adding, “The commercial mustn’t recommend that an individual engaged in gaming exercise is in any far more profitable as in comparison with others.”

The ASCI guidelines also provided that every such “gaming commercial” must carry a disclaimer which in case of print media should read as “this recreation entails a component of monetary threat and could also be addictive. Please play responsibly and at your personal threat.” Such a disclaimer should occupy no less than 20 percent of the space in the advertisement, the ASCI guidelines noted.

In case of the gaming advertisements in audio-video format, according to the ASCI guidelines, the disclaimer should be run as “this recreation entails a component of monetary threat and could also be addictive. Please play responsibly and at your personal threat.”

“For audio-visual mediums, the disclaimer must be in each audio and visible codecs. Such a disclaimer should be positioned in regular talking tempo on the finish of the commercial. It should be in the identical language because the commercial,” the rules added.