Offshore betting tops ASCI's 2024–25 ad violations in India
Advertisements for offshore betting and gambling platforms made up the largest share of complaints received by the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) in 2024–25. The self-regulatory body flagged over 3,000 such advertisements in its latest Annual Complaints Report. These ads accounted for 43.52 percent of the 7,078 advertisements reviewed during the year.
Sharp rise in gambling ad complaints
ASCI recorded a steep increase in gambling-related advertisements. In 2023–24, the number stood at 1,311. This more than doubled to . The rise has been linked to the growing online presence of offshore betting platforms, which are regularly banned by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
ASCI noted that it escalates illegal advertisements to the concerned regulators for further action. The number of total betting and gambling-related complaints increased from 2,707 to 3,347 year-on-year.
RMG sector helps monitor gambling promotions
Several flagged advertisements were identified with help from real money gaming (RMG) industry associations. A special monitoring unit, set up in January 2025, played a key role in spotting and reporting non-compliant ads.
ASCI said it worked closely with sector-specific authorities throughout the year. In one example, its collaboration with MahaRERA — Maharashtra’s real estate regulator — led to the detection of 1,755 non-compliant ads in the property sector.
Other major offenders
The second-largest category of violations was related to products making unverified health claims. ASCI submitted 233 advertisements to the Ministry of AYUSH for violating the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954.
In the alcohol category, ASCI flagged 21 direct advertisements on social media platforms and forwarded them to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
Influencer marketing
Influencer content continued to be a key area of concern. ASCI reviewed 1,015 influencer posts and found that 69 percent did not meet disclosure requirements. While 29 percent had proper disclosures, 43.2 percent had disclosures hidden within hashtags or poorly placed, and 56.8 percent had no labels at all.
Out of the non-compliant influencers, 59 corrected their posts voluntarily, and five complied after ASCI jury recommendations. However, five cases were escalated to the Ministry due to repeated non-compliance.
Violations were most common in the fashion and lifestyle (27.5 percent), telecom (21.7 percent), and personal care (13 percent) sectors.
ASCI continues partnerships
The ASCI earlier signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with three key online gaming industry federations—Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS), All India Gaming Federation (AIGF), and E-Gaming Federation (EGF), to curb illegal gambling advertisements.
The partnership, effective from 2 January 2025, has led to the establishment of a special monitoring cell to track, screen, and report offshore betting advertisements that violate Indian laws. Since then, ASCI has flagged 413 illegal ads to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and processed 12 advertisements that potentially violated ASCI’s guidelines for Real Money Gaming (RMG).
Manisha Kapoor, CEO and Secretary General, ASCI, emphasised the importance of curbing offshore betting ads, stating,
“Indian consumers are exposed to numerous ads of offshore betting and gambling companies that have no accountability in India. Several Indian celebrities have been part of such advertisements. Since gambling ads are prohibited in most parts of the country, their large-scale presence is a breach of the law.”
She further stressed the need for self-regulation and industry compliance to ensure legal gaming platforms advertise responsibly.
