In a cat and mouse game between the government of India and the offshore betting and casino companies, it appears the mice are winning. But the Indian government has vowed to continue the ban on gambling websites.
So far, the Ministry of Electronics and information Technology (MEITY) has banned 138 such sites. The MEITY said they were in violation of the IT Act and “were engaging in illegal money laundering & were posing threat to the financial security of our nation,”
Last year the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting issued a ban on advertisements on digital media and television. It also banned offshore betting companies promoting betting under the guise of news.
The casino companies might have found a gray area and are definitely exploiting it. They are utilizing sponsorships of sports teams, personalities and industry sponsorships.
Two sports seem to be at the center of the controversy. The first is soccer, that has many betting companies sponsoring teams. Stake, an online casino, has interests in both Mumbai FC and Hyderabad FC. Parimatch, a betting company based in Cyprus, is the main sponsor of Goa FC.
The other sport is Kabaddi, a game played between two teams on opposite halves of a field or court. Individual players take turns crossing onto the other team’s side, repeating “kabaddi, kabaddi.” Points are scored by tagging as many opponents as possible without being caught or taking a breath before returning to one’s home territory.
Betting sites, Dafa and Fairplay have interests in Kabbaddi teams. Dafa is a sponsor of the Telugu Titans, while Fairplay is a partner of Jaipur Pink Panther.
The India Affiliate Summit also has ties to betting companies. The summit is described as the “largest performance marketing event in India” and officials from Parimatch and Khelraja spoke at last year’s event.
