Bengaluru (Karnataka): Betting on a win or loss in sports is not a new aspect. Even today in many sports the speculation of victory and defeat is made openly. But over time betting has become a business and today it is made official by bringing regulations in many nations.
However, on the other hand, the number of people playing offline betting has not decreased. There is also every possibility that a betting racket is active during the ODI Cricket World Cup, which is currently going on in India. Police have also arrested many accused, who were involved in betting during recently held sports events like the Asia Cup and Caribbean Premier League. This time too, the police are geared up to keep an eye on those who are engaged in betting.
It is a challenging task for the police to detect offline betting scams, which are slightly different from other criminal activities. Usually, betting is not like other crimes as it happens between acquaintances, friends and those who meet through them. So the police are keeping an eye on places like pubs, bars, restaurants, social clubs etc. during major sporting events. In many cases, the middleman is arrested through the information of police sources.
Betting is a business where many lose and only a few gain a large amount of money. Due to this, there are instances where many families have faced financial hardships. Sometimes this has led to criminal acts for non-payment of money and many other reasons. So city CCB has urged that people should not engage in betting and should inform the police if they come to know about it.
Before the start of the Asia Cup, which was held in Sri Lanka and the Cricket World Cup, the Center had instructed the media not to show betting or any other form of gambling advertisement or in any other form during the telecast of the major sports events.
In the press release of the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, this rule has been applicable to all media from print and TV media to social media agencies and advertising agencies, warning that appropriate action will be taken if the advice is ignored.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, which said that there is a strong possibility of black money being used to advertise gambling activities such as betting, mentioned that incidents of money collected from users of gambling apps being sent outside India by agents have come to light. And, besides money laundering, it warned that the financial and social situation of youth and children involved in gambling worsens.
Nowadays betting and gambling advertisements are broadcasted directly or indirectly during major sports events including cricket. The Government have seriously considered broadcasting this type of advertisement. It is made clear that even in an important sport like cricket online advertising intermediaries should not deliver such advertisements to Indian viewers. It is made clear that if anyone broadcasts such an advertisement it would be a violation of many legal orders such as the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, and the Press Council Act, 1978.
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