 "tv viewership, TRP, television, channels, media, entertainment, remote, OTT")
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) issued advisories for television, print, and digital media not to publish, broadcast advertisements of online betting platforms and any such product or service depicting these platforms in a surrogate manner.
The ministry has advised the intermediaries not to target such advertisements towards the Indian audience.
The advisories state that betting and gambling are illegal activities, and advertisements or promotion of such activities directly or indirectly on any of the media platforms falls foul of the various statutes, including under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019; and the Press Council Act 1978, the ministry said in a press release.
The ministry said that attention should be paid to the recently amended rule 3(1)(b) of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, which provide that intermediaries shall make reasonable efforts by itself, and to cause the users of its computer resource to not host, display, upload, modify, publish, transmit, store, update or share any information that "is in the nature of an online game that is not verified as a permissible online game; is in the nature of advertisement or surrogate advertisement or promotion of an online game that is not a permissible online game, or of any online gaming intermediary offering such an online game."
The ministry said that advertisements on gambling/betting platforms pose financial and socio-economic risk for consumers, especially children and youth.
The press release stated that certain media companies have been allowing advertisements of betting and gambling platforms during sports events, especially cricket tournaments.
The ministry cautioned that such entities should refrain from doing so, failing which the government would take appropriate action under various statutes.
