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The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has identified and shared 700 ads from illegal betting and gambling companies with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) between April and August 2024. Storyboard18 recently reported that Real Money Gaming (RMG) players have claimed that offshore illegal gambling firms have been using the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) as a sporting platform for surrogate advertising.

In a letter to Sanjay Jaju, Secretary of MIB, Real Money Gaming (RMG) players raised concerns that illegal and offshore betting platforms like Melbet, Dafabet, Vegas11, Fun88, and 1xBet are engaging in surrogate advertising under names like Melbat, Dafanews, Vegas11 Sports News, Fun88 News, 1xbat, and Batery.AI.

The RMG operators also allege that Dafa News, a surrogate of Dafabet based in the Philippines, and Parimatch News, a surrogate of the betting platform Parimatch, based in Cyprus, are official partners of the PKL. Moreover, they claim that these platforms allow its users to place their bets on live PKL matches. 

In 2024, Pro Kabaddi League viewership crossed the 200 million mark during its 90th match, making Kabaddi the second sport after cricket to reach this milestone multiple times. The Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) Season 11 kicks off on October 18, 2024.

Manisha Kapoor, CEO and Secretary General of ASCI, said, “We have raised the issue of betting and gambling firms advertisements with the MIB. We report it to the government by sending them ad links. We have also noted that in some cases, the links are not active anymore and the content has been pulled off by the platforms on being directed to do so by the government.”

Kapoor added, “In the 2023-24 financial year, we identified 1,311 ads for illegal betting and gambling. From April to August 2024, we have shared 700 such ads with the government.”

An RMG operator, speaking anonymously, said, “We are pleased that the self-regulatory body, ASCI, is taking a strong stance on curbing promotions of illegal betting and gambling companies. The government should take stricter action after receiving such complaints. We also plan to meet with MIB through our gaming federations to request an advisory be issued to broadcasters and streaming platforms to curb the surrogate advertising of these platforms.”

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday that GST collection from online gaming has increased by 412% in six months since October 1, 2023, when a 28% tax was imposed on these services.

A spokesperson from another RMG company stated, “As an industry, we are paying taxes to the government, while these offshore illegal betting and gambling companies are growing their user base through surrogate advertising and marketing strategies. If this issue is not addressed, many RMG companies will be forced to shut down.”

During a media briefing, Sitharaman mentioned that 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.

ASCI escalates issue of illegal betting and gambling platforms' ads to MIB

FMCG giant Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) in its annual report declared that they witnessed an increase in consumer complaints related to advertisement in FY24 as compared to last year. In FY2022-23, 10 complaints were received while in FY24, 18 complaints were received. One complaint of FY23 is pending resolution at the end of the year. 

HUL’s annual report states, “We have a very robust mechanism to receive and address queries, feedback and complaints received from our consumers. We have reported above complaints in relation to ‘data privacy’, ‘advertising’, ‘cyber-security’, ‘delivery of essential services’, ‘restrictive trade practices’ and ‘unfair trade practices’

In FY 2020-21 HUL in its annual report, had disclosed that 28 complaints were filed against its ads with the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI). In FY 2021-22, 14 complaints were filed with ASCI. 

Hindustan Unilever in its results for the quarter and year ended March 31, 2024 stated that the ad and promotions spends increased to hit Rs 1616 crore in Q4. In the corresponding quarter in 2023 the advertising spends stood at Rs 1311 crore. For the year ended March 31, 2024, HUL recorded Rs 6489 crore in advertising and promotions expenses.

Hindustan Unilever Ltd on April 24 reported 6% fall in standalone net profit at Rs 2,406 crore for the fiscal fourth quarter as against Rs 2,552 crore in the year-ago period. The Company’s turnover for the financial year ended 31st March, 2024 was Rs. 59,579 crores as against turnover of Rs. 58,154 crores for the financial year ended 31st March, 2023.


HUL sees rise in consumer complaints against its advertisements

Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) on Thursday announced that NS Rajan, director, August One Partners LLP, has been unanimously elected as chairman of the board of governors of the industry’s self-regulator. The decision was made at the board meeting following the 36th annual general meeting of ASCI. He replaces Subhash Kamath who has served the industry watchdog for two-years in the role.

At the meeting, Saugata Gupta, managing director & CEO, Marico Limited, was elected vice-chairman, while Shashidhar Sinha, chief executive officer at IPG Mediabrands India, was appointed honorary treasurer.

Subhash Kamath, the outgoing chairman, will now be a part of the Consultative Committee of the board, which, among other activities, mentors the new initiatives of the organisation. Virat Tandon, group CEO of Lintas India, and Arun Srinivas, director, GMS India (Meta), were newly inducted onto the board at the same meeting.

Talking about his new role Rajan says, “I am looking forward to advancing the agenda of the Council to rapidly increase ASCI awareness among consumers so that they engage more readily and in greater numbers, voicing their concerns, anxieties, and questions about what they experience in the form of thousands of ads per day. That number, on average, in India is anywhere between 7000-10000 ads per day,”

He further adds that his key focus will be taking forward ASCI’s efforts more towards prevention, in addition to the robust corrective mechanisms that have been built over the decades. 

“The third pillar would be to keep ahead of the fast-expanding and fractionalising digital domain to ensure that responsible advertising principles are followed equally across all media and consumer engagements by advertising in every form,” Rajan notes.

Rajan is a public relations (PR) veteran. He was earlier the founder and managing director of Ketchum Sampark, an Omnicom Group Company.

A key initiative announced at the AGM by the outgoing Chairman, Subhash Kamath was the soon-to-be-launched ASCI Academy. The academy ASCI says will work in the direction of training and awareness creation, and deep engagement with various stakeholders in the prevention of objectionable ads.

Speaking about his two-term tenure as ASCI chairman, Kamath says, “Our vision of making ASCI more future-ready by taking on the challenges of a digital world and a fast-changing communication landscape, and by adding value to the industry through more agility, responsiveness, services, and thought leadership, has started showing results. I’m sure ASCI will continue to grow from strength to strength in the coming years.”

ASCI appoints NS Rajan as chairman

On August 31, the Department of Consumer Affairs, which comes under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution directed advertising agencies to ensure strict compliance with guidelines on the prevention and endorsement of misleading advertisements.

The directions mainly pertained to the guidelines on surrogate advertising, were sent to Advertising Association of India, Indian Broadcasting Foundation, Broadcasting Content Complaints Council, News Broadcasters and Digital Association, Advertising Standards Council of India, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Confederation of Indian Industry, ASSOCHAM, International Spirits and Wines Association of India, and the Indian Society of Advertising.

This move come in the wake of surrogate advertisements being noticed in the recent sports events that were televised globally. The department noted that the guidelines were not being followed, and were not being strictly complied by the concerned entities. Further, the department stated that the goods which were prohibited, found their way to advertisements through surrogate goods and services.

Surrogate advertising is a form of advertising, which is done on regulated goods, under the guise of another product. The regulated goods for example are cigarettes and alcohol. It is also a strategy of advertising products which cannot be advertised openly, where the advertisers rope in celebrities to increase their value, all without naming the actual product. Under the laws like the Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003, alcohol and tobacco cannot be advertised, thereby, surrogate advertising is done.  

The Department also observed that many alcoholic spirits and beverages were advertised under the robe of music CDs, club soda, and packaged drinking water. On the other hand, chewing tobacco and gutkha took the veil of fennel and cardamom. The department also mentioned that most of the brands brought celebrities on board to maximise the impact of the brand, which they believed had a negative impact on the youth. Several instances of direct advertisements of alcoholic beverages were noticed on social media platforms as well, stated the Department in a press note.

In June, the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) issued guidelines on misleading advertisements, where a Rs 10 lakh would be fined for its first violation. For subsequent violations, it would lead up to Rs 50 lakhs. The guidelines also highlight that using any brand name, logo, colour, etc. associated with goods whose advertisement is banned is also not permitted.

Govt directs ad agencies to ensure strict compliance of guidelines on surrogate advertisements

Twenty-nine percent of the complaints that the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) received in FY 21-22 about ads involved influencers. The top six violative categories included emerging sectors such as gaming and cryptocurrency. And 48 percent of the ads that ASCI processed were published digitally, the industry body stated in its Annual Complaints Report FY 21-22. Here's a snapshot.

Education

Of the 1,728 ads looked into in 2021-22, 99 percent needed modification and one case was dismissed. Six percent of all education ads looked into were from edtech. 90 percent of the ads evaluated in the category were in print.

Most of the violation claims under the Education sector pertained to leadership, awards and rankings, and job guarantee claims. Comparative superlative claims such as 'highest success' and 'lowest fees' and performance outcome claims like 'best results' and 'success assured' were also common.

In addition, there were a significant number of money-back guarantee claims usually clubbed with result-oriented/outcome-related claims.

Teachmint Technologies Private Limited and Sorting Hat Technologies Private Limited (Unacademy) had 7 ads each that required modification. Five ads from Think &amp; Learn Private Limited (Byju's, Akash Byju's) had to be modified.

Gaming

Of the 383 ads looked into, 94 percent needed modification; 99 percent of all ads were on digital media.

Eight ads featuring celebrities were found to be misleading and 22 ads had Influencer Disclosure violations.

Most violation claims in the Gaming sector pertained to leadership, guaranteed winnings, prize money assurance and safety, security &amp; privacy claims. Other claims involved consumer trust, such as 'trusted by 3 billion users', and comparative claims like 'win better' and 'X times more winnings' were also seen.

The top five companies with the most ads in violation of the ASCI codes are NxGn Sports Interactive Pvt. Ltd for Twelfth Man (63 ads), GIG WORK PRIVATE LIMITED for Khelo Fantasy (60 ads), Rolls Networks Private Limited for Namma11 (35 ads), BLOSSOMFIELD GAMINGZONE for Sportasy (33 ads) and Winner Games Pvt. Ltd for DeccanRummy (33 ads).

Virtual Digital Assets (VDA)

Of the 394 ads examined, 98 percent were digital, 95 percent required modification and 385 had Influencer Disclosure violations

In terms of the procedural outcomes of cases that required modification, 53 percent saw an informal resolution — the decision was not contested.

Most advertisements looked into in this sector were influencer disclosure cases where influencers were talking about how to navigate VDA platforms, or sharing information about the category and how the platform is easy to operate on.

Among the ads that made misleading claims, leadership and consumer trust claims were most common. Guaranteed earnings, and performance comparisons with other modes of investments like Gold and stock investment were next.

The other common complaints revolved around promoting the category through referral programme claims such as 'refer a friend and win'.

The top five companies with the most ads in violation were Binomo (296), Neblio Technologies – CoinDCX (45), nOFTEN (13), Bitcipher Labs LLP – CoinSwitch Kuber (9) and Zanmai Labs – WazirX (3).

ASCI reports 385 Virtual Digital Asset ads with influencer disclosure violations; 296 Binomo ads needed modification

Twenty-six-year-old Vivek Shetty (name changed on request), who works with a digital marketing agency, has been investing in cryptocurrency since early 2021. Shetty has been following creators like Ankur Warikoo, Akshat Shrivastava and CA Rachana Ranade for investment tips. However, he only makes investment decisions after consulting his father and the family wealth manager. According to Shetty, for beginners, following content creators for context and understanding of the market dynamics and investment options is a good start. But “at the end of the day, they are people on the internet. I wouldn’t risk my money based on a YouTube video. I can’t trust them.”

On July 4, 2022, Singapore-based crypto trading platform Vauld suspended all its operations, including withdrawals and deposits. This comes amidst crypto winter as markets continue to struggle to attract new investors even as some recovery is being witnessed. Globally, about $400 billion worth of investor wealth has been wiped out in crypto over the last few weeks. Most of them are young and first time investors. As per a report by crypto exchange Gemini, more than 54% Indians in the crypto space are first-time investors.

Cryptocurrency is a volatile market - the price of a single Bitcoin today is around Rs 17.50 lakh; less than half its value in November 2021.

It’s not just the current stormy market conditions that’s giving brands in the category a tough time. “With blurry advertising guidelines and no regulations, there is a massive grey area,” says a senior executive of a creative shop who has worked closely with crypto and BFSI clients. He says, “Technically, influencers aren’t selling an illegal product. Some of them subtly mention it in their videos, a few oversell it, and others are taking a neutral stand. There is no one to tell them if they are being irresponsible apart from a set of social media users who are well aware of the category. You can flag it off to the Advertising Standards Council of India that’s about it.”

In June 2022, as per ASCI, 92% of all crypto advertisement violations that occurred between the months of January 2022 and May 2022 can be linked to social media influencers in the country. Most of these influencer ads were a mix of breaching ASCI’s influencer guidelines and crypto guidelines in advertising. The breaches included failure to add disclaimers around crypto trading as well as tags that noted that a particular post was a paid partnership.

Manisha Kapoor, CEO and secretary general, ASCI, tells Storyboard18, that while a lot of consumers are aware that crypto is a relatively new sector that is unregulated, it also important for crypto exchange platforms to carry the mandated disclaimer in their advertising informing them that it’s a high-risk investment category. She further adds, “Influencers, like all endorsers, need to do full due diligence before talking about products, regardless of the category.”

Who is really responsible?

Post the news of Vauld’s shutdown, a number of social media users started pointing out how top Indian finfluencers like P.R. Sundar, Ankur Warikoo, Akshat Srivastav, and Booming Bulls, made “irresponsibly” content for the brand.

Shrivastava has a video portfolio on his YouTube channel, which has over a million followers, explaining cryptocurrencies, and related concepts like tokens, stablecoins, and equity. He has also made several videos for Vauld's YouTube channel. On his personal channel he has videos with clickbaity titles like “The best Fixed Deposit option with 0 taxes!”, “Cryptos will SKYROCKET!” in partnership with Vauld. Srivastava in all of these videos gave full disclosure that its educational content and not a piece of investment advice.

In October 2021, Warikoo, a digital influencer who discusses entrepreneurship, finance, and investment, made a YouTube video discussing how he uses Vauld for bitcoin-based fixed deposits. In the video's description, he stated that he would not have otherwise invested in a fixed deposit. Since Vauld offered special fixed deposits for crypto investments, which was an easy way to make money over and above the appreciation in the value of crypto investments, he went for it. He used the “paid promotion” tag in this video. Warikoo updated the video’s description with this note, “At 8:21am on July 4th 2022, I received an email from Darshan, the CEO of Vauld. Due to the volatile nature of the crypto market, Vauld has decided to pause all withdrawals, trading and deposits. Which means our monies are stuck for now. This is extremely unfortunate and not something I would have wished for, when I worked with Vauld. As all of us (that includes me - Even my money is with Vauld) wait to see what happens next, I hope you all invested wisely in crypto to no more than 5-10% of your total portfolio, as I have mentioned always.”

In theory, Srivastava, Warikoo, and other creators who created content for Vauld haven’t violated any visible rules. However, the argument is that they and other finfluencers need to be extra careful with brand collaborations, do better homework on brands, and make disclosures louder and clearer.

An active investor in crypto startups in India tells Storyboard18 that it’s “high time that finfluencers get their act together.” He opines, “Crypto attracts young investors who live and breathe on social media. It is a joint responsibility of the brands, influencers and agencies involved to be transparent with their narrative.”

Ashutosh Harbola, founder of influencer marketing company Buzzoka agrees with that. He further adds that crypto exchange platforms are chasing valuation, and ethics don’t matter when brands are in that race.

A founder of a leading influencer marketing agency says it’s not fair to blame finfluencers when there is a market crash or a company decides to shut operations overnight. “The intent of the content produced by finfluencers is to make investors aware of trends and opportunities. That’s about it. There is a lot of homework done by them before releasing their content piece. It time for all stakeholders to come together and define what is right and wrong way to promote a category like crypto.”

Agencies that Storyboard18 spoke to indicate that crypto brands collectively at the beginning of 2022 had plans to spend between Rs 400 crore and Rs 700 crore on digital marketing. Last year, this number stood at around Rs 800 crore to Rs 1,000. It is too early to estimate if that will drop post the Vauld episode, says a senior media planner. But he indicates that crypto brands will continue to rope in influencers for aggressive marketing push. Depending on the reach and follower count finfluencers get anywhere between Rs 50,000 to Rs 10,00,000 for an Instagram Reel. As per multiple agencies that Storyboard18 spoke to for a full brand campaign they are paid anywhere between Rs 1,00,000 to Rs 50,00,000. Insiders working closely with finfluencers also hint that smaller crypto brands have offered equity stakes to some of them. Some have silently added it to their portfolio, and some have politely refused this offer.

What’s the fix?

Sayali Rai and Niyati Thaker, partners of FinCocktail, a personal finance guide, tell Storyboard18 that they spend significant time researching on brands that approach them for collaborations. They read consumers’ feedback and talk to fellow personal finance experts to make informed decisions. Recently, they have worked with brands Groww, HDFC MF, and Manipal Cigna Health Insurance. Rai and Thaker have also worked with brands CoinDCX and CoinSwitch Kuber in the past and said no to some brands from the category too.

They say, “We think becoming popular is always the aim when you want to be an “influencer” in any category, but instead of focusing on things that “may go viral” we need to focus on what we’re here to do first.” Educational content is critical if creators want to spread financial literacy, believe Rai and Thaker. The right approach is to “Give out disclaimers, tell users that they need to do their research time and again. It’s important. Tell them if you’re not confident about a brand, don’t be shy about it. Also, even Warren Buffett has made bad calls and lost money. Don’t be afraid to showcase your mistakes. Finance is as much art as science, explain Rai and Thaker.

Brand experts think crypto brands will not stop pumping monies into marketing anytime soon. However, the critical aspect is the need to amend crypto guidelines and have clear regulations in place. Harbola agrees with this. “For a dynamic category like crypto, ASCI has to be on its toes and bring amendments to its existing guidelines because the space is ever-evolving. The ad regulator has to empower customers by making it easier for them to report defaulters (influencers/crypto platforms) as well,” he concludes.

Are crypto investors losing faith in finfluencers?

India’s ad watchdog on June 28 released its ‘Complaints and Insights 2021-2022' report, which revealed that the advertisements under the education category turned out to be the biggest violators of the ad code.

Emerging categories like crypto and gaming were among the top 5 categories that violated the advertising guidelines most in 2021-22. To put it in perspective, between January and May 2022, more 400 ads were flagged by the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) that violated the guidelines.

Given the surge in demand for health & wellness products and services, healthcare and personal care also popped up in the list of the sectors that violated guidelines.

Digital platform torchbearer of misleading ads

The digital ecosystem took a center stage in the report released by the ASCI as the maximum number of objectionable ads (48 percent) were published on digital; Instagram claimed lion’s share of 43 percent, followed by YouTube 28 percent, Websites 18 percent, Twitter 6 percent and Facebook 3 percent. 

Influencers contributed to nearly 29% of all complaints taken up by ASCI.

Misleading ads featuring celebrities, that violated the code, jumped by 41 percent to 92 percent. As many as 94 percent of the overall ads processed demanded modifications. However, the overall voluntary compliance rate stood at 94 percent and the compliance on print and television was as high as 98 percent.

The Growth

The Indian advertising industry reached a size of Rs. 70,715 crores in 2021, registering 18.6 percent growth from 2020. The industry is expected to reach Rs 93,119 crores by the end of 2023, a projected CAGR of 14.75 percent. The digital advertising industry has reached a market size of Rs 21,353 crore in 2021 from Rs 15,782 crore in 2020, recording a 35.3 percent growth, owing to the accelerated business and consumer shift towards digital. Digital media is expected to reach a market size of Rs 35,809 crore by 2023.

ASCI Chief Speaks

ASCI chief Manisha Kapoor opines that the guidelines are fairly detailed and exhaustive. Sharing her views on why they are not being adhered to, Kapoor said "If a new guideline comes in place, it serves two purposes. One it tells the industry what is okay and what is not. It tells that if a disclaimer is read fast, it is not okay. Any new guideline that comes in place, I think, the industry takes some time to internalise, understand and then start to fully comply. We make our findings transparent. The industries also need to introspect, and if they don't behave in a responsible way, then that invites greater scrutiny from all kinds of regulators, and self-regulators."

Kapoor believes that the guidelines are fairly new and we should wait for a few months before they begin to be adopted. These guidelines are subject to review based on the evolution of the consumer, the market, or other factors., she added.

Regarding influencer guidelines, Kapoor says, "we have seen a lot of people who have started to follow, and ASCI is pulling up the people who are not following. It is a matter of the industry also coming together and saying that by being honest, it will be good for us where consumers can trust those who are honest."

Education category largest violator of advertising code in 2021-22: ASCI Report

Layer’r Shot, the deodorant brand from Adjavis Venture Limited, has been pulled up after a user on micro-blogging platform Twitter called out its latest campaign for being sexist, questionable and disrespectful towards women.

"There have to be some regulations for ads man. That Shot deo ad is nothing short of disgusting actually. Even though I knew it was an ad and it wouldn't happen. The fear for a second I felt was real. Imagine making an ad on the fears of millions of women! WTF!," the user wrote.

Can't find the ad online but here it is, apparently being played during the match. I didn't see it till @hitchwriter showed it to me

Who are the people making these ads really?

— Permanently Exhausted Pigeon (@monikamanchanda) June 3, 2022
"Can't find the ad online but here it is, apparently being played during the match. I didn't see it till @hitchwriter showed it to me Who are the people making these ads really?," the user added.

The 30-second feature features a bunch of teenagers walking into a room where a young couple was there. They make suggestive remarks which imply scoring sexual favours from the woman in question.

The ad has opened a can of worms as users on Twitter started posting about the other ads done by the brand previously as well.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
One more <a href="https://t.co/6oYQkv49QN">https://t.co/6oYQkv49QN</a>
— Ris...? (@RishitaPrusty_) <a href="https://twitter.com/RishitaPrusty_/status/1532633304737796097?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 3, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

One of the users also called the company's founder Devendra N Patel for approving such objectionable ads.

"Found it horribly wrong and uneasy to watch. It’s sickening, actually. There are more in the series. @ascionline please intervene," tweeted another user.

The advertising regulator promptly took to Twitter to respond to the request and stated, "Thank you for tagging us. The ad is in serious breach of the ASCI Code and is against public interest. We have taken immediate action and notified the advertiser to suspend the ad, pending investigation."

Speaking to Storyboard18, Manisha Kapoor, CEO &amp; secretary general, ASCI said that this ad has been processed under suspended pending investigation. (SPI).

"This is used in exceptional circumstances, when it appears prima facie that an advertisement is in serious breach of the ASCI Code and its continued transmission on/through/by any medium causes or has the effect of causing public harm and/or injury or its continuation is against public interest. ASCI has, pending investigation, forthwith directed the advertiser/the advertising agency/the media buying agency and the media concerned to suspend the advertisement. The advertiser has already been written to asking for immediate suspension of the said ad," she noted.

Often synonymous with sexist advertising, male grooming category, dominated by deodorants, has been accused of creating highly sexist, objectionable and stereotypical advertising.

Brands such as Wild Stone, Addiction Deo, Set Wet Zatak (Paras Pharma), Denver Deo and Axe (Unilever) commercials have been called out for being sexist.

The I&amp;B Ministry has also taken cognizance of such advertising and asked the regulator to intervene.

Over the years, the deo brands have started taking baby steps away from their sexist ad legacies, to talk about equality and respect. Axe, which has once relied heavily on ads which showed how Axe made men wildly popular among women, is changing the way it pushes the brand to consumers, adding a larger purpose.

However, there have been occasional bad apples who continue to stick to sexist titillating advertising. Stuck perhaps in old industry beliefs like "sex sells".

An earlier version of this story attributed the ad to Triton Communications. Triton Communications did not make this ad, and the copy has been edited to reflect this. We regret the error.