India has asked Tech giant Google to stop displaying surrogate ads of overseas betting companies such as PariMatch, Fairplay, Betway and 1xBet in search results and YouTube, amid a crackdown on illegal online gambling. The Centre is concerned that many Indians are getting addicted to or losing money to online betting companies .
Tech giant Google has issued a statement yesterday and claimed that it does not allow any online gambling ads in adherence with local Indian laws.
The statement was issued in response to Ministry of Information and Broadcasting letter last week, wherein the ministry asked Tech giant Google to comply with its advisory against online betting ads. Google has asserted that it doesn’t allow any such advertisements on its platforms.
A Google spokesperson said, “In line with our Ads Policies, and with the local laws and regulations applicable, we do not allow any ads that promote online gambling. Across our advertisement systems, we have strict policies in place to stop the violations, and we take quick action if we are informed about any violative advertisements”.
MIB sent a letter to Google recently, stating that ads for online betting are still running on YouTube and Google even as other platforms stopped them following a government advisory in this regard issued on 3rd October.
In the month of October, the government urged Television, print and digital media platforms asking them not to publish advertisements of online betting platforms on online and social media.