Two of the most-watched sports leagues in India, Pro Kabaddi (PKL) and Indian Super League (ISL), have been spotted promoting offshore gambling websites despite the government issuing advisories against them.
The latest season for ISL and Pro-Kabaddi started on Friday, and both of the leagues have signed up to promote offshore betting websites as one of their official partners. The partnership is with their respective news websites, but the website itself leads to their gambling website.
Both of the leagues have partnered with companies like 1XBAT, Dafabet, Parimatch News and stake ‘DOT’com. The matches are broadcasted to live audiences, and the government has already instructed the OTT and cable tv providers to refrain from promoting these websites on their platforms.
Out of 11 teams in ISL, eight have sponsored logos on their jersey:
- Chennaiyin FC
- Bengaluru FC
- East Bengal FC
- ATK Mohun Bagan
- FC Goa
- Kerala Blasters FC
- Hyderabad FC
- Mumbai City FC
The teams that are not sponsoring offshore companies are Northeast United, Jamshedpur FC, and Odisha FC.
And out of 12 teams in Pro Kabaddi, 11 have these offshore companies as sponsors
- Bengal Warriors
- Dabang Delhi KC
- Gujarat Giants
- Haryana Steelers
- Patna Pirates
- Puneri Paltan
- Tamil Thalaivas
- Telugu Titans
- U Mumba
- UP Yoddhas
- Jaipur Pink Panthers
The only team without an offshore company sponsor here are Bengaluru Bulls.
The companies these teams have partnered with are not registered to carry out businesses in the gambling sector, so they opted to promote themselves as a news website. The government has only focused on stopping these companies’ ads while using sports teams to promote their business.
As for now, no actions are being taken against these practices, but regulatory authorities must also check on these situations instead of only issuing warnings.