Govt cautions influencers against promoting offshore betting platforms

Government on Thursday cautioned all endorsers and social media influencers to refrain from promoting or advertising, including surrogate advertisements, of offshore online betting and gambling platforms.

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, in an advisory, said that these advertisements have significant financial and socio-economic implications of online betting and gambling on consumers, particularly the youth.

The ministry has further advised the online advertisement intermediaries not to target such promotional content towards Indian audiences, an official statement said.

Social media intermediaries have also been advised to conduct sensitisation efforts among their users to refrain from publishing such content, it said.

The advisory cautions that failure to comply with it may lead to proceedings under the provisions of Consumer Protection Act, 2019 including removal or disabling of social media posts or accounts and penal action under the applicable statutes, the statement said.