Storyboard18 Impact: ASCI to report B4U Music's betting ad to MIB

The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) will report the gambling and betting company Melbet’s advertisement aired on B4U Music. Additionally, B4U Television Network India Limited has blacklisted the marketing agency that paid for the advertisement’s telecast.

On September 25, Storyboard18 reported that despite the ban on advertisements for illegal betting and gambling firms, B4U Music aired ads for Melbet, an offshore betting and gambling company allegedly involved in money laundering and operating in India.

In its half-yearly complaint report for 2024-25, ASCI revealed that 93% of scrutinized advertisements came from digital platforms, with 2,087 flagged for direct legal violations. The top five categories with the highest violations were real estate (34%), illegal betting (29%), healthcare (8%), personal care (7%), and food and beverage (6%).

Manisha Kapoor, Secretary General and CEO of ASCI, stated, “We have been flagging illegal betting/gambling ads of offshore companies to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB). Between April and September 2024, ASCI reported 890 illegal betting ads to the Ministry. The platform in question will be reported to the government.”

Furthermore, Infinite Entertainment, a Satara-based marketing firm that paid B4U Music for the advertisement, has been blacklisted by the channel, and all business operations with the firm have been terminated. Bhakti Patil, Founder of Infinite Entertainment, confirmed the development.

Storyboard18 reached out to Santosh Garg, Director of B4U Network Limited, for a comment, but he declined to respond.

It is noteworthy that on October 3, 2022, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting issued an advisory to private satellite TV channels, stating, “Betting and gambling are illegal activities in most parts of India. As per Paragraph 9 of the Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements for Misleading Advertisements 2022, under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, since betting and gambling are illegal, advertisements for online offshore betting and gambling platforms are also illegal.”

The advisory further clarified, “Under the Advertising Code of the Cable TV Network Regulation Act, 1995, ads for betting platforms, being illegal activities, cannot be aired on TV channels.”

In March 2024, the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs issued a strict advisory banning the advertising, promotion, and endorsement of illegal activities such as betting and gambling, including those disguised as gaming. Under the Consumer Protection Act of 2019, the CCPA prohibits endorsements of illegal activities.

According to the 2021 Global Report on Corruption in Sport by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the illegal betting and gambling market is estimated to be worth $350 billion and $1.7 trillion, respectively.

The Think Change Forum (TCF), an independent think tank, published a report titled “State of the Betting and Gambling Industry in India.” It estimated that the offshore sports betting market receives $100 billion annually in deposits from India and has grown by 20% annually over the past three years since the pandemic.