The Telangana state government, which has banned all kinds of betting and gambling apps, has now removed advertisements of these apps from public spaces, the Director Of Enforcement, Vigilance & Disaster Management, Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation informed today through a Tweet.
All the advertisement banners of the concerned apps were removed from public places yesterday. The Tweet further mentioned that citizens can contact the control room or register complaints through Twitter to remove more such advertisement banners.
Telanagana state govt has banned betting and gambling apps,the advertisements showing such content were removed yesterday.Citizens can complain to us through Twitter or our control room to get such prohibited content removed. @CommissionrGHMC @GHMCOnline pic.twitter.com/Y3WZoVXEJn
— Director EV&DM, GHMC (@Director_EVDM) April 20, 2023
Incidentally, Telangana is the first state in the country to ban all kinds of gaming for stakes through the Telangana Gaming Amendment Act, 2017. The latest move has been made in the backdrop of increasing presence of illegal betting and gambling operators in the state. In January, the Hyderabad police had booked the management of Lotus365 and an ad agency for involved in the placement of gambling advertisements on TSRTC bus shelters.
Though the police booked some management personnel of Lotus365 the senior and key personnel usually operate from outside the country, which makes it difficult to crack down on them.
Lotus365 is already on the government’s radar after the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) sent notices to celebrities endorsing the brand on social media platforms.
Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu state government recently notified the Gaming Ban Bill, prohibiting any online game with stakes. The law was enacted in order to curb the suicides which were reportedly occurring due to people losing money in online rummy.
While online rummy, poker and fantasy sports are considered as skill-based games, the new law disregards it and bans them. This has sparked debates among the online gaming industry stakeholders.