A number of prominent Indian actors have been accused of “accepting huge sums of money” to promote illegal betting platforms.
As reported by The Tribune in India, a case under relevant sections of India’s BNS, Gaming Act and IT Act has been registered against six actors and 19 social media influencers.
The issue was brought to the attention of the authorities by an unnamed businessman who claims that he came across those accused actively promoting the platforms on social media via pop-up ads.
“These platforms are encouraging [the] public, especially people who are in dire need of money, to invest their hard-earned money in those apps/websites. Slowly they get addicted to these apps, leading to financial distress,” claimed the businessman in his first information report (FIR) submitted to the Indian police.
According to the Miyapur Police Station, the case includes actors Rana Daggubati, Prakash Raj and Vijay Deverkonda – stars of cinema in the Telugu language.
The businessman has urged the police to take the necessary action to manage the platforms and those individuals who are illegally promoting them.
The issue of the black market in India continues to rear its head as a new report the All India Gaming Federation detailed that unlicensed betting platforms had a total of 1.6 billion visits over a three-month period.
It detailed that over a three-month period, social media drove 42.8 million visits to just four illegal sites, whilst referral traffic generated 247.5 million visits, primarily from adult sites, gambling affiliates and promotions on sports and video streaming platforms.
It specifically took aim at the Facebook advertising policy, which has grown monumentally in recent times.
Identifying how this can be combated, the report called on the relevant ministries to establish arrangements with digital advertising intermediaries, including social media platforms, search engines, and ad networks to “proactively monitor, flag, and remove illegal betting and gambling-related advertisements.”
It also called on governing bodies and regulators to enforce stricter ad policies when it comes to ensuring direct paid advertisements are moderated.
The Advertising Council of India has also previously highlighted illegal offshore betting as a continuous “major concern”, as 890 ads for the sector were reported to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting between April and September 2024.
Off the back of the report, the Indian advertising authority has sharpened its toolbox in terms of tackling black market advertisements.
The group, alongside the Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS), the All India Gaming Federation (AIGF) as well as the E-Gaming Federation (EGF), signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), to address challenges through a special monitoring call.
Anuraag Saxena, CEO of the E-Gaming Federation, stated: “Indian citizens have been duped and scammed by unscrupulous operators for years. The nation suffers, so do consumers, so does the domestic industry. Which is why we at EGF have been pioneering responsible gaming, and mandatory audits of our gaming companies.
“The monitoring cell of ASCI will only turbo-boost our efforts. Together, we will uphold high ethical standards and create a safer, more trusted gaming landscape for all.”
Nonetheless, one of the methods that many operators would call on to halt the rise of the black market would be to decrease the heavy tax burden on the regulated market.
The most recent review of the tax arrived at the end of last year, where it was confirmed that the 28% GST levy would remain in place. It was previously upped in October 2023, where it was 18%.
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