According to reports, India has asked Google not to display surrogate ads for overseas betting companies, according to a person familiar with the development in the ministry of information and broadcasting.
According to the report, a letter sent last week to Alphabet Inc’s Google India requested that the company immediately remove all advertising, direct or surrogate, from betting platforms such as Fairplay, PariMatch, and Betway in search results and on YouTube.
Reuters reported on December 4 that India’s planned regulation of online gaming will apply to all real-money games after the prime minister’s office overruled a proposal to only regulate games of skill and exclude games of chance, citing a government document and three sources.
“Following our previous advisory on 3 October, TV channels and OTT (Over-the-top) players stopped showing surrogate ads of online betting firms, but it has been brought to our attention that many such ads are still running on YouTube and Google.” “We have asked Google to immediately stop this,” a senior ministry official told Mint.
Google did not respond immediately to Reuters’ request for comment.
A government panel stated in a draft report seen by Reuters earlier this month that India should establish a regulatory body to classify online games as skill or chance, implement rules to block prohibited formats, and take a tougher stance on gambling websites.
