Digital Desk: On Monday, the Ministry of
Information and Broadcasting (I&B) issued a warning to print, electronic,
and digital media not to promote online betting sites.
Following a meeting between the ministry and the
ministries of Consumer Affairs and Electronics and IT, as well as the
Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), News Broadcasters Association
(NBA), Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), All India Gaming Federation
(AIGF), Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS), and Online Rummy
Federation, the advisory was issued in light of instances of online betting
websites and platforms being advertised in the media (ORF).
Gambling and betting are banned in most regions
of the country, according to the I&B ministry, and they pose a considerable
financial and socio-economic risk to customers. It went on to say that
advertisements for online betting have the impact of promoting this illegal
conduct.
"Online betting advertisements are
deceptive, and do not appear to be in strict compliance with the Consumer
Protection Act 2019, the 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," it said.
It has also been suggested that online and
social media, as well as online advertisement intermediates and publishers,
refrain from promoting such advertisements in India.
On December 4, 2020, the ministry issued an
advisory to TV stations, advising them to follow the ASCI norms for online
gaming advertising.
The ASCI guidelines state the following:
* No gaming advertisement may represent or
indicate that anyone under the age of 18, or who appear to be under the age of
18, are engaged in online gaming for real money.
* Every gaming advertisement in print, static,
and audio/video must include a caution saying that there are financial risks
and that the game may be addicting.
· * In print, a disclaimer like this should take up at least 20% of
the ad area.
· * The disclaimer must be
in normal speaking pace and use the same language as the commercial in
audio/video.
· * The disclaimer must be
in audio-visual format for audio-visual mediums.
· Advertisements must not portray those who are engaged in gaming activities as being more successful than others.
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