MUMBAI: The Information and Broadcasting Ministry advises, market realities engineer “work arounds”. The problem is that said work arounds are crossing multiple legal red lines, which is increasing the likelihood of a clampdown sooner rather than later.
Ever since live sport returned to TV screens across India following the first lockdown, a bevy of cryptocurrency-based companies occupied prime slots.
A year later, pretty much all the crypto companies have exited with the market having witnessed a huge crash. The next great post pandemic advertising go to is clearly surrogate sports betting. These have been frequently seen on both linear TV and over-the-top (OTT) streaming platforms over the last 20 months or so (1xBet, fairplay, dafanews, Betwinner News, Betway, are just some examples).
Indian Express has highlighted the problem in a news report that looks at the less than subtle case of ‘professional sportsblog’ 1xBet. During key moments of the Asia Cup tournament that concluded on Sunday, the image of Yuvraj Singh — dressed in whites, pumping his fists, flashing a wide smile and holding a bat — would flash on the screens.
1xBet is an online bookmaker that has been banned in several countries, including Russia, where it was founded. As the daily notes, 1xBet was blacklisted by Britain’s Gambling Commission in 2019 following an investigation by the Sunday Times that revealed its “brand had been used to promote betting on children’s sports, cockfighting and a ‘pornhub’ casino with topless women dealing the cards. The blacklisting had also led to top Premier League clubs terminating sponsorship contracts.
Also, in June this year, Norwegian football magazine Josimar reported that 1xBet, one of the biggest sponsors in football, was “declared bankrupt in the Caribbean island of Curacao, where the company has a licence that allows it to offer bets around the world”.
Now, the same platform has trained its guns on India, launching a marketing blitzkrieg that is in ‘potential violation’ of the country’s laws.
And it’s not just 1xBet. Another betting website, FairPlay, too, has been on an advertising overdrive during the Asia Cup and the US Open.
With gambling and betting illegal in India, the standard template of these platforms is to set up sports news websites, which offer match predictions and tips, to aid them in surrogate advertising. Yuvraj and fellow ICC World Cup winner Suresh Raina are among the ambassadors of 1xBet’s sportsblog, while actor Ranbir Kapoor and boxing icon Mary Kom, among others, endorse the news portal FairPlay.
Refer to the I&B Ministry’s advisory issued in June to print, electronic and digital media on the subject. “The advertisements of online betting are misleading, and do not appear to be in strict conformity with the Consumer Protection Act 2019, Advertising Code under the Cable Television Networks Regulation Act, 1995, and advertisement norms under the Norms of Journalistic Conduct laid down by the Press Council of India under the Press Council Act, 1978,” the ministry had stated.
Manisha Kapoor, the CEO and secretary general of the Advertising Standards Council of India told Indian Express that this is a matter for “judiciary and states to look into”.
“The ads mentioned are in potential violation of the Indian government’s law rather than ASCI’s code. This is a matter for the judiciary and states to look into in the interest of consumer protection and is beyond the purview of ASCI,” Kapoor said. “Having said that, we support the government at all times in monitoring such ads when asked for.”
Yet, the issue continues to go unchecked. Over the last few years, especially during and post the pandemic, betting companies – through direct or surrogate ways – have been openly and increasingly advertising on leading streaming services, including Disney+ Hotstar and SonyLIV, during live sports events, most notably cricket matches.
When contacted by the daily, Disney+ Hotstar, SonyLIV, the Board of Control for Cricket in India, Yuvraj Singh and 1xBet did not respond. FairPlay could not be reached for comment.
As Indian Express further reports, to place bets on these offshore websites, users have to first create an account by sharing their personal details. In the case of 1xBet, the text message for the One-Time Password required to register is delivered in Russian. Once logged in, users can place bets on domestic and international matches in sports ranging from cricket, kabaddi, volleyball, football, table tennis, basketball and tennis, among others.
The website offers multiple payment options for users based out of India, including e-wallets, cryptocurrencies, bank transfers and bank cards. Curiously, while making UPI transfers, instead of making the payment directly to 1xBet, the registered ID belongs to a private individual and it routinely keeps changing. Users are given a unique reference code to validate the transactions and the money is deposited in the betting account through a third party within an hour, rather than instantaneously.
Additionally, these websites – registered in tax havens like Curacao and Cyprus – put the onus of figuring out the legalities of online betting on the user. “When opening an account and/or using our Website you must make sure that your actions are legal in the territory in which you reside. You also guarantee and agree that you have received legal advice before registering on our Website,” the terms and conditions published on 1xBet stated, adding that it is illegal in countries like “the USA, the United Kingdom, Cyprus, the Netherlands, etc.”
