A billboard featuring former West Indies cricketers Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard in Delhi’s Connaught Place reads “Dream Big. Play Big. Let’s 1XBet”. The same poster can also be found on moving auto rickshaws and housing society digital out-of-home (OOH) advertising. Offshore betting companies such as 1XBet, DafaBet, Fairplay, Parimatch, Betway, Laser Book News, wolf777, and more have taken advantage of all available advertising inventory in India (print, digital, OOH, and metro stations, among others).
These companies often disguise themselves as content platforms and are ubiquitous in Indian media. Most of their ads come with a QR code. Once you scan the QR code it takes you to a WhatsApp business account that gives you access to sites, with usernames and passwords from where one can place bets.
It’s like liquor brands selling CDs, except the stakes involved are higher ― addiction, loss of money, and loss of tax revenue for the government, to name a few. While these companies market themselves year-round, the Indian Premier League is the peak season of their advertising efforts, with media buying experts estimating that nearly Rs 2,000 crore has been spent on marketing activities across various platforms. The amount of Rs 2,000 crore is a rough estimate, said the same expert, and may be way higher if the unorganised sector is taken into account. Believably so. A certain allaboutoudoor.com that boasts of their latest campaign of 1XBet on their website says the company is running a 30-day campaign across four areas in Delhi-NCR with an investment of Rs 31 lakh.
Star power
That was Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard posters. Now, enter the Bollywood stars. Ranbir Kapoor, Badshah, Suniel Shetty, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and many more are associated as ambassadors of similar platforms.
Rohit Kumar Singh, Secretary of the Ministry for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution – Offshore betting companies advertising in India is grossly illegal.
The use of Bollywood celebrities in their ads may make them seem more appealing, but it does not make them legal in any way.
“It is grossly illegal,” said Rohit Kumar Singh, Secretary of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution.
The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution has also written to the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) just last week seeking clarity on the issue. The ministry has also been constantly issuing advisories.
“The Indian Government has once again issued an advisory expressing its concern on the breach of previous advisories. Previously, in October 2022, the Government had issued two advisory circulars, one for cable TV networks, and another for news platforms and OTT platforms,” said Shashank Agarwal, Advocate, Delhi HC.
These advisories referred to the provisions of Consumer Protection Act, 2019, the Information Technology Act, the Cable TV Network Regulation Act, 1995, and the rules, regulations and guidelines framed thereunder with respect to the issuance of advertisements. In fact, the advisories clearly spelt out restraint on issuance of surrogate advertising as well.
Media expert – Rs2000 crore has been spent on marketing activities across various platforms around IPL 16 by the offshore betting forms. This is a rough estimate and the number may be way higher if the unorganized sector is taken into account.
“However, these were only ‘Advisories’ and ‘Advisories’ by themselves are not law, unless it is shown that they were issued under due authority of law. Today, there might be sufficient law, but its enforcement needs to be put in place,” Agarwal said.
Last year’s advisory had an impact to the extent that channels like Sony and Star withdrew their ad deals with these companies. The impact however, was limited to the major television networks. It was business as usual for other platforms.
According to the numbers shared by TAM with Storyboard18, betting ads grew 10 times on digital platforms and 27 times on television media in 2022. Fairplay News topped digital medium and Parimatch News on TV. However, only two brands were seen advertising on digital media (with total 21 insertions) during January-March 2023 and no advertising on TV was done in the same period by these players.
Chandrima Mitra, Partner, DSK Legal – Considering betting is prohibited in many states in India, advertising of betting is prohibited, therefore big ad deals needed to be cancelled with such offshore betting companies. Thereafter such offshore betting companies introduced either surrogate businesses or brand extensions (such as gaming platforms, news portals, etc.) in order to promote their platforms
Enter print and event sponsorships
Offshore betting firms have also been using Indian newspapers as a platform to promote their offerings to potential customers, with full-page ads that often feature popular sports personalities. One example is a recent full-page ad in The Times of India featuring West Indies cricketers Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard promoting 1XBet. Lotus 365 is one such firm that has been placing full-page ads in newspapers. Despite being illegal in India, firms like Betway and Laser Book News have also found ways to promote their services through such ads. These ads not only try to lure customers with catchy slogans and graphics, but also attempt to create the impression of legitimacy by featuring endorsements from well-known sports and entertainment figures.
The price for placing such ads in newspapers can be up to Rs 15 lakh, depending on the circulation of the newspaper.
These companies have also been spending in crores and actively sponsoring major sports and corporate events in India as partners. For instance, DafaBet was a title sponsor for the Indian Super League team FC Goa in the 2019-20 season. Similarly, 1XBet was an official partner of the Pro Kabaddi League in 2019. As for corporate events, Jagran Play, an e-sport tournament, was sponsored by Betway.
Shashank Agarwal, Advocate, Delhi HC – MIB ‘Advisories’ and ‘Advisories’ by themselves are not law, unless it is shown that they were issued under due authority of law. Today, there might be sufficient law but its enforcement needs to be put in place.
Chandrima Mitra, Partner, DSK Legal, explains the loophole in the system.
“As per Chapter 3.5 of the ASCI (Advertising Standards Council of India) Code, advertisements shall not propagate products, the use of which is banned under law.” Considering betting is prohibited in many states in India, advertising of betting is prohibited. Therefore, big ad deals needed to be cancelled with such offshore betting companies. Hence, these offshore betting companies attempted to introduce either surrogate businesses or brand extensions (such as gaming platforms, news portals, etc.) in order to promote their platforms,” she said.
According to Mitra, while the government has specifically banned surrogate branding through the Guidelines on Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements for Misleading Advertisements, 2022, it set out a proviso to such a ban, which when read with the provisions of the ASCI Code, gives recognition to “brand extensions” and there are parameters which need to be met with for any brand to be classified as brand extension.
TAM – Betting ads grew 10 times on digital platforms and 27 times on television media in 2022. Fairplay News topped digital medium and Parimatch News on TV.
“The ASCI Code has received recognition from the Cable Television Network Rules, 1994. Therefore, an interpretation of the same, implies its applicability to television only and not specifically to social media,” Mitra adds.
Who’s playing? Who’s paying?
“Everybody,” says the chief of a gaming federation. “Given the entry barriers are as low as Rs 10, sometimes everybody with an internet connection on their phone and a desire to make quick money is on betting platforms,” they said.
An important question to ask is whether betting is legal in India.
Anushkaa Arora, Principal & Founder, ABA Law Office, has an answer to that.
“Legality of betting depends on each state of India. Only Goa, Sikkim, and Daman have legal gambling. In India, gambling activities are regulated by the Public Gaming Act of 1867. Apart from this, there is no concrete legislation which regulates betting in India,” Arora explains, adding, “Which is why, people in India are free to place their bets online because it’s neither legal nor illegal.”