Central government which recently blocked domain names of leading offshore gambling websites is now considering blocking more than 220+ domains of leading as well as small operators from the offshore online gambling space. The list accessed by Team G2G includes notorious websites Ambani Book, Adani Book, and Namo Book which link themselves to three powerful persons in the country.

According to sources, the government is also considering blocking new domain names of these offshore gambling websites as and when they come up. Several websites which were blocked in the first round have quickly changed domain names and continue their operations. The investigative wings of the GST department have taken a special interest in the operations of these illegal websites and are pushing the information technology  ministry (popularly known as MEITY) to block the domain names.

According to skill gaming body AIGF, the offshore websites annually spend nearly INR 3,500 crore on advertisements and promotions, and another 500 crore on celebrities and influencers to endorse their platforms, making it a total of around 4,000 crores spent by these companies annually. The revenues are estimated to be even higher creating a major socio-economic risk to the country if left unhindered.

In a major crackdown, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) instructed OTT, TV and other media platforms earlier this month to refrain from advertising/promoting offshore online casino companies – for a second time since June. Private television broadcasters may lose their broadcast license if they continue with gambling promotions.

Many offshore companies like 1xBet, Fairplay News, PariMatch, Betway and Wolf 777 allegedly use surrogate advertisements to promote gambling via various media platforms even when gambling is not allowed in most parts of the country.

Earlier this month, we reported that the offshore betting companies are under the scanner of the Enforcement Directorate, the investigative body under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA) for routing betting proceeds. FEMA doesn’t permit remittances in relation to betting.

On Wednesday, the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), a statutory authority under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 issued show-cause notices to six online betting apps for violating advertising norms.