Casino ads at Eden Gardens create flutter

Gambling in India being restricted, advertisement by two Sri Lankan casinos at the Eden Gardens hosting the India-West Indies Test match caught the fancy of spectators.

The large banners atop the stand bearing the name of two Colombo-based casinos became the talking point during the match.

The organisers, the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), said they had taken due approval of the authorities concerned for all the advertisements on the ground.

"We took prior approval of the authorities concerned, including the Kolkata Municipal Corporation which collects tax for the advertisements," CAB treasurer Biswarup Dey said.

When contacted, Kolkata Police chief S.K. Purakayastha refused to comment on the issue, saying: "I need to verify it first."

About the possibility of any legal action due to the advertisement, KMC mayor in council (parks) Debashish Kumar said: "We just collect tax that are payable by the CAB. The custodian of the ground is the army, so whether any legal action arises or not is to be decided by the army."

Calcutta High Court advocate Sujoy Chakraborty said since the advertisement banners mentioned only the name of the casinos, they were not illegal.

"There was nothing in the ads which suggested any invitation to the public for gambling. So they are not illegal," said Chakraborty.