The Union’s ministry of information and broadcasting has asked television channels to include legal warnings whenever they run advertisements for online gaming or fantasy sports sites.
In an advisory issued on Friday, the ministry said it had learned that the channels were showing ads for gaming sites, but did not inform viewers of the associated financial risks.
Online gambling is associated by many with gambling and, in the wake of concerns, the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has published guidelines for posting these ads, the ministry said.
According to the guidelines, which will go into effect on December 15, no person under the age of 18 should be shown playing these games to win real money.
The print ads have also been asked to display a disclaimer that playing these games can be financially risky and addictive. The guidelines suggest that the disclaimer should take up no less than 20% of the print ad space.
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A similar method has been suggested for audiovisual and audio advertisements. The guidelines suggest that the disclaimer should appear after the advertisement and should be in the same language. They also suggest that the audio has a normal voice.
The guidelines also suggest that online gaming should not be represented as an income opportunity or alternative employment option. They also suggest that the people in the ad shouldn’t show themselves as more successful than others.
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