RMG firms to MIB: Stop betting sites from promoting through outdoor ads

With the ongoing festive season, Real Money Gaming (RMG) companies are facing challenges as Out of Home (OOH) advertisements from gambling firms continue to rise. Recently, RMG players met with officials from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) to request intervention against the widespread OOH gambling ads in cities.

Numerous gambling platforms, including 1xBet, Parimatch, Betway, and DafaBet, have been advertising heavily on billboards and cabs across major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. RMG companies have urged the MIB to advise government bodies to restrict these advertisements, which often use surrogate methods to expand their reach and attract new users.

In 2023, the MIB issued an advisory to state Chief Secretaries to curb menace of OOH ads by notorious gambling and betting firms. Apurva Chandra, Secretary of the MIB, cited previous ministry advisories against betting advertisements in traditional media. The letter noted, “While gambling advertisements have largely been curtailed in mainstream print, electronic, and digital media, it has come to our attention that some betting platforms are now utilizing outdoor media like hoardings, posters, banners, and auto-rickshaw branding to promote their websites/apps in India. It is therefore requested that appropriate actions be taken to curb these outdoor advertisements of betting and gambling platforms.”

An industry leader from an RMG platform shared, “With the festive season, notorious betting and gambling platforms have resumed their aggressive advertising and marketing strategies. These ads are not only back on television but are also omnipresent across OOH and digital platforms.”

The source added, “Our meeting with MIB officials aimed to secure their support in urging state secretaries and relevant departments to remove such advertisements promoting gambling and betting platforms.”

Another leader from a leading gaming federation on condition of anonymity said, "This issue continues to harm the reputation of legitimate companies operating in India. Despite multiple reminders from the government, there is a lack of proactive measure to curb advertisements on OOH platforms and on Digital mediums. MIB can help the industry by just nudging them to take proactive action via their advisories."

"We are hopeful that MIB will help the already burdened industry to tackle the menace of illegal gambling advertisements."

In a letter to Sanjay Jaju, Secretary of the MIB, RMG companies had expressed concerns about offshore and illegal betting platforms such as Melbet, Dafabet, Vegas11, Fun88, and 1xBet, which use surrogate names like Melbat, Dafanews, Vegas11 Sports News, Fun88 News, 1xbat, and Batery.AI.

The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) had identified and shared 700 ads from illegal betting and gambling companies with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) between April and August 2024.

It should be noted that during a media briefing, Sitharaman mentioned in six months since October 1, 2023, when a 28% tax was imposed on these services, the revenue from online gaming has surged by 412%, reaching ₹6,909 crore in just six months. This amount is compared to the ₹1,349 crore collected before the notification on online gaming was issued.