MIB raises the stakes: Prohibits advertising for online betting platforms

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) issued an advisory on 13 June 2022 to print media, private satellite television channels, and digital media to refrain from advertising online betting platforms / websites (Advisory).

Background

In December 2020, the MIB had issued an advisory to all private satellite TV channels to comply with the Guidelines on Online Gaming issued by the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI Online Gaming Guidelines). The ASCI Online Gaming Guidelines were issued in the backdrop of increased frequency of advertisements on television promoting online gaming, and fantasy sports and inadequate disclaimers warning consumers about the risks associated therewith.

The ASCI Online Gaming Guidelines set out the following guidelines:

Advisory

Going one step further from the ASCI Online Gaming Guidelines, the Advisory completely prohibits advertising of online betting platforms in India. Print, electronic, online, and social media, including online advertisement intermediaries and publishers are now restricted from publishing, displaying, or targeting Indian audience with such advertisements.

The MIB notes in the Advisory that betting and gambling are illegal in most parts of the country and advertisements of online betting platforms are therefore promoting a largely illegal activity that poses significant financial and socio-economic risks for consumers, particularly youth and children. The Advisory comes in the aftermath of advertisements of online betting platforms that were telecasted during the streaming of the India-Australia ODI Series in 2020 and the UEFA European Football Championship in 2021.

The MIB observed that advertisements of online betting platforms currently seem to be misleading and do not appear to be in conformity with the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, the Advertising Code under the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995, and advertising norms under the Norms of Journalistic Conduct issued under the Press Council Act, 1978, which generally provide that advertisements should not be misleading and should not give a false guarantee about the nature, substance or quality of a product / service, should not deliberately conceal important information and should not advertise products / services which are prohibited by law.

Comments

While the Advisory makes a reference to the ASCI Online Gaming Guidelines issued in December 2020 in relation to advertisements of online gaming platforms, the prohibition under the Advisory extends only to online betting and gambling platforms and not online gaming. As such, online games of skill and fantasy sports, the legality of which is determined under state specific laws, will not fall within the ambit of the ban.

Further, the Advisory is addressed to newspapers registered under the Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867, private satellite television channels, and publishers of news and current affairs content on digital media. It also makes references to online and social media, including online advertisement intermediaries and publishers to not display advertisements in relation to online betting platforms.

While the Advisory is not specifically addressed to publishers of online curated content, in our view, it is unlikely that MIB’s intent would be to exclude publishers of online curated content from the scope of the Advisory. As such, publishers of online curated content may consider complying with the Advisory until further clarifications from the MIB.

-      Tanu Banerjee (Partner), Ishan Johri (Principal Associate) and Akriti Sirsalewala (Associate)

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