India battles online gambling ads: Advisories issued, IT act used

The Indian government has addressed concerns about the increasing presence of online gambling platforms in response to questions raised in the Lok Sabha.  

The questions, under Unstarred Question No. 5157, were posed by Shri Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy and Shri Putta Mahesh Kumar. They asked the Minister of Information and Broadcasting about:  

• Whether the government has conducted any survey/study on the rise of online gambling platforms.  
   
• Details of actions taken by the government in the last five years.  
   
• The total number of sites/social media accounts taken down for online gambling advertisements in the last five years.  
   
• Whether the government has considered introducing a mechanism to track and remove online gambling advertisements.  
   

Dr. L Murugan, the Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs, provided the answer.  

The Minister of State clarified that while “Betting and gambling come under Entry 34 and 62 of List-II (state list) of the 7th Schedule of the Constitution,” the Union Government has taken steps to address the issue.  

These steps include issuing advisories to various stakeholders to refrain from publishing online betting advertisements. The advisories were directed to:  

• Print, electronic, and digital media.  
   
• Endorsers and Influencers on social media.  
   
• Social Media Intermediaries.  
   
• Online Advertisement Intermediaries.    

The government also utilizes Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act, 2000, to notify intermediaries to remove or disable access to unlawful content. The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting issues notifications to intermediaries, including social media platforms, to remove posts and links advertising offshore online betting and gambling platforms.