India issues warning on online gambling promotion

India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has warned social media influencers.

India.- The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has warned social media influencers and online advertisers against promoting offshore online gambling and betting platforms. It has warned online advertising intermediaries not to target Indian audiences with gambling-related promotional content and called on social media intermediaries to discourage users from publishing such content.

Non-compliance with the advisory may result in actions under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, including removal of social media posts or accounts and fines.

The advisory notes that section 79 of the IT Act, 2000 exempts intermediaries from liability for third-party information but clarifies that this does not apply if intermediaries fail to remove or disable access to unlawful content promptly upon receiving notification from a government agency.