Mint Explainer | How are betting ads still buzzing? India trains its lens offshore

What are offshore betting apps and are they legal in India?

Offshore betting apps are online gambling platforms based in tax havens such as Jamaica, Curaçao and Gibraltar. Indians access them via websites, apps and Telegram channels to bet on sports, lotteries, or real money casino games.

Real money gaming is banned in India under its Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, but the law doesn’t cover offshore betting apps such as 1xBet, 1xWin, Stake and Parimatch. And, most of them slip in their promotions in India through influencers, social media content, and ‘surrogate ads’, where the content focuses on offerings such as sports news or sports wear.

Why are these platforms and their ads under greater scrutiny now?

India’s Advertising Standards Council of India says it has received increasing complaints against ads of these offshore betting apps. According to ASCI’s latest monitoring report, complaints rose by 70% and the number of ads reviewed more than doubled, up 102% from the previous year, driven largely by betting-related content. Between April and September, ASCI registered 6,841 complaints. About two-thirds of these were against offshore betting apps.

So where are these ads and who is in them?

Most of them are online, largely on Instagram and Facebook. Of the overall ad complaints ASCI took note of during April-September, 79% were on Meta platforms, the report said. Offshore app ads accounted for most of the violations of ASCI’s own code and various advertising-related laws in the country. Memes and short videos on social media platforms often carry logos of betting apps, such as Stake, in their background or captions and banners of surrogate ads pop up in mobile games and in the livestreams of sporting events. Some apps are also running ads on billboards and in public transport such as the Mumbai Metro Rail.

Some of these apps also feature prominent actors, sports stars and other celebrities. Cricketers Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh, and Robin Uthappa have endorsed these apps in the past, as have actors Vijay Deverakonda, Sonu Sood, and Rana Daggubati.

If these ads aren’t strictly legal, what action is being taken?

The ASCI said it reported more than 4,500 offshore betting app ads to the ministry of information & broadcasting, the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre and the Directorate General of GST Intelligence.

Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) are questioning several celebrities in a probe on the matter. Earlier this month, the ED attached assets of cricketers Suresh Raina and Shikhar Dhawan worth over ₹11 crore and this week actors Vijay Deverakonda and Prakash Raj were reportedly questioned by the Telangana CID.

What could change, going forward?

It’s grey area as of now. Monitoring and taking down ads on social media or the open internet is difficult. Besides, sponsored posts by smaller influencers and new creators are hard to distinguish from regular content; a logo or a subtle brand plug can often be difficult to recognize, let alone report.

Besides, India may have banned real money gaming but apps operating outside the country can operate using loopholes in gaming and advertising law. These apps are not the only ones to use surrogate advertising tactics – pan masala companies and alcohol brands routinely advertise themselves with placeholder products such as elaichi and music CDs.