Government of India issues a statement urging social media influencers not to promote gambling or betting apps

The statement also mentions that influencers or platforms found indulging in such direct or indirect advertisement or endorsement shall be subject to rigorous scrutiny by the CCPA. 

On Thursday, the Information & Broadcasting Ministry released a statement urging social media influencers to not use their platform to promote or advertise gambling and betting platforms. The statement also restricts them from doing any kind of surrogate advertisement of any offshore online platforms to the Indian audience.

According to the Ministry, such advertisements may have a significant financial and socio-economic impact, especially on the youth. It was also pointed out by the Ministry about the concerns raised by the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) regarding endorsements of betting and gambling platforms by celebrities and influencers. It is mentioned that influencers or platforms found indulging in such direct or indirect advertisement or endorsement shall be subject to rigorous scrutiny by the CCPA. The Ministry also advised various platforms to refrain from publishing content that might endorse or talk about such platforms in any form. The statement also mentioned, "The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, being the appropriate Government in respect of "Online Advertisements", is accordingly empowered to issue notifications to the intermediaries, including social media platforms, to remove/disable access to posts, links, etc. where advertisements and branded content of offshore online betting and gambling platforms is being published."

As a penalty, the advisory suggested that any failure to follow the guidelines may lead to them taking actions under the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, which includes removal or disabling of social media posts or accounts and penal action under the applicable statutes.

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Indian Government warns Influencers "NOT TO PROMOTE BETTING APPS/GAMBLING".



This may lead to Arrests & Deletion of their Social Media Accounts. pic.twitter.com/G2bkKxy0Cb

— letsgrowesports (@letsgrowesports) March 21, 2024

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