Blacklisted betting site makes backdoor entry in India with Asia Cup

A clandestine betting site, which was blacklisted by multiple countries including where it was founded, has found its way into India through a backdoor deal.

1XBet, founded in Russia, was seen on the screens during the recently-concluded Asia Cup, featuring Yuvraj Singh. On paper, the cricketer appeared to be promoting a "professional sportsblog," but it is a highly controversial betting website.

1XBet was founded in 2007 and registered in Cyprus, though it is actually Russian in origin. As of 2021, the platform was blacklisted by the Russian Federal Tax Service and payment processor blacklists. It was also in the centre of the controversial "pornhub casino" case in 2019, which resulted in it getting blacklisted by the UK Gambling Commission after an investigation by The Sunday Times.

In November last year, a subsidiary of the company filed for bankruptcy in the Caribbean island of Curacao after allegations that it denied betters legitimate wins, amounting to millions of euros, according to Dutch media reports.

Now, 1XBet is attempting to make headways in India, operating as a ‘professional sportsblog’ to circumvent rules. It has launched a marketing blitzkrieg, which, Indian regulators said, could be in ‘potential violation’ of the country’s laws, The Indian Express reported.

As gambling and betting are illegal in India, platforms like 1XBet have set up sports news websites which offer match predictions and tips to aid them in surrogate advertising. Yuvraj is one of the ambassadors of 1XBet’s sportsblog, while actor Ranbir Kapoor and boxer Mary Kom, among others, endorse the news portal of another such backdoor entry, FairPlay, the report said.

Such attempts to gain foothold in India are unlikely to hold well with authorities, owing to the country's surrogate advertising laws, which had targeted alcohol and tobacco companies earlier this year in a stringent ban on such advertisements.

Manisha Kapoor, the CEO and secretary general of the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) told the publication that this is a matter for judiciary and states to look into.

“The ads mentioned are in potential violation of the Indian government’s law rather than ASCI’s code. This is a matter for the judiciary and states to look into in the interest of consumer protection and is beyond the purview of ASCI,” Kapoor said. “Having said that, we support the government at all times in monitoring such ads when asked for.”

Interestingly, 1XBet signed on as sponsor of Russian eSports organisation Team Spirit in May 2022, and football club Paris Saint-Germain named the company its regional partner in Africa and Asia in August - but has restricted access in over a dozen countries, including the USA, UK, the Netherlands, Spain and Belgium.