‘Meta, Google cooperation critical to dismantle illegal gambling’

Bengaluru: While the government has attempted to dismantle the fast-growing illegal online gaming sector in India, collaborative or even standalone efforts from big tech players like Meta and Google are required to solve this issue, a report released by the Digital India Foundation said on Thursday. 

As per the report, the scale of illegal gambling and betting in India is staggering, with 1.6 billion visits recorded in just three months (October to December, 2024) across four analysed platforms — Parimatch, Stake, 1xBet, and Battery Bet.

Given the enormity of the problem, the report has recommended that a comprehensive strategy needs to be deployed, including assigning liability to all key enablers of the illegal market, such as Google and Meta, while enforcing strict compliance requirements. “Specific measures that can be undertaken in India are strict enforcement of ad policies to ban direct paid advertisements, enhanced content moderation to flag or remove user-generated content relating to illegal betting markets, and immediate suspension of influencers promoting illegal operators,” the report added. 

The Indian government has attempted to curb these activities through website blocking and official advisories, but these measures in isolation have had limited effectiveness, as illegal operators continue to function with impunity, constantly adapting to evade enforcement. 

“To effectively address this concerning issue, relying solely on standalone measures like blocking these illegal websites is not sufficient. Instead, a more comprehensive strategy is needed—one that targets the entire ecosystem enabling operations of illegal betting and gambling, including targeting user acquisition done through advertising, payment operators, and software providers supporting these platforms,” said Dr. Arvind Gupta, the Head and Co-Founder of Digital India Foundation.