The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) identified 4,858 gambling and betting advertisements during the year following the introduction of the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 (PROGA). Betting accounted for 4,856 cases, while two involved online gaming.
Almost 97% of the reported advertisements appeared on digital platforms, showing that betting promotions continued to reach Indian consumers after the legislation took effect.
Advertising Activity Concentrated After PROGA
ASCI recorded 1,146 advertisements in August 2025, followed by 951 in September and 1,053 in October. The three-month total of 3,150 cases represented about 65% of all advertisements reported during the year.
Activity then declined to 725 cases in November, 330 in December and 245 in January 2026. The first six months accounted for 4,450 advertisements, or nearly 92% of the total.
Reports dropped further in February, March, April and May, with zero, one, one and two cases respectively. June and July brought a renewed increase, with 220 and 182 advertisements recorded. The data also included two cases from August 2026.
The resurgence coincides with a busy cricket calendar and the approaching festive season, periods that could provide further opportunities for betting promotions.
Digital Channels Dominate Violations
ASCI said almost 97% of post-PROGA advertisements were found through the Meta Ad Library, Instagram and websites. Its FY2024-25 annual report also found that digital media accounted for 94% of investigated advertising violations, while traditional media showed higher compliance.
Offshore betting and gambling ranked among the sectors with the most violations. Related cases increased from 1,311 in FY2023-24 to 3,081 in FY2024-25.
ASCI also identified 318 influencers promoting offshore gambling advertisements on social media and found disguised promotions on community and fan pages.
The council reported no gambling or betting advertisements on print or OTT platforms during the post-PROGA period, although it identified two betting television commercials.
Cricket Season Raises Enforcement Pressure
India’s upcoming cricket schedule includes the Women’s Asia Cup from August 28 to September 13, followed by cricket competitions at the Asian Games. Bilateral series against the West Indies, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Australia are also scheduled.
Namita Viswanath, Partner at CMS INDUSLAW, said betting operators increasingly use digital channels to reach Indian audiences.
“During IPL and major tournaments, sites ramp up India-facing offers around cashbacks, bonus deposits, special odds and cricket-linked promotions. Their marketing playbook is increasingly skewed towards channels that are harder to police: Telegram groups that push tips, live odds and payment instructions at scale; and Instagram and other social feeds that appear to be generic sports update pages but have users funnelled to betting apps,” she said
She added that affiliate marketing and user-generated content can complicate enforcement.
Malak Bhatt said offshore operators use mirror domains and surrogate sports accounts around major events and festivals.
Technology and gaming lawyer Jay Sayta also questioned whether authorities can monitor the volume of online platforms involved.
“It is important that the government acknowledges the impossibility of banning all online betting platforms, and continuously monitoring thousands of such websites/apps, and that enforcement of PROGA has been a failure,” Sayta said.
Source:
“One year of PROGA: ASCI flags 4,858 betting ads ahead of cricket calendar, festive season”, exchange4media.com, August 26, 2026
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