India asks Google to halt online gambling ads
The government has sent a letter to Google asking the company to stop showing ads from overseas betting companies.
India.- The Indian government is calling on Google to stop showing ads for offshore gambling companies in search results and on YouTube.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has confirmed that is has written to the search giant. It comes two months after the government ordered TV channels, OTT (over-the-top) services and news websites to stop broadcasting gambling advertisements.
India is debating whether to establish a regulatory body for online skill games in the country. To date, apart from the Supreme Court’s precedent on skill-based gambling, there is no federal statute to govern India’s gambling industry, with each state taking its own stance. Arrests related to illegal gambling are frequent.
Last week, Tamil Nadu governor R N Ravi met with Minister of Justice S. Regupathy to discuss concerns regarding Tamil Nadu’s Prohibition of Online Gambling and Regulation of Online Games Bill. The governor had been criticised for the delay in implementing the bill, which caused it to lapse after its promulgation in October.
Regupathy said the governor had raised some doubts and that once they were answered, he assured he would grant his assent. According to local media reports, the Governor has not yet signed 21 laws that have been pending for more than a year.
