Television broadcasters have been issued an advisory to assure that advertisements do not promote any activity which is prohibited by the statute of law, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting informed on Thursday, reported ANI.

The step has been taken to stop the misleading advertisement of online gaming including fantasy sports.

“All broadcasters are advised that the guidelines issued by Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) are complied with and advertisements broadcast on television adhere to the guidelines of the ASCI. It may also be ensured that advertisements do not promote any activity which is prohibited by statute or law,” the ministry said in the advisory.

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It had come to the notice of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) that a large number of advertisements on online gaming, fantasy sports etc have been appearing on television. Concerns were expressed that such advertisements appear to be misleading, do not correctly convey to the consumers the financial and other risks associated thereof, are not in strict conformity with the Advertising Code laid down under the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act 1995 and the Consumer Protection Act 2019, it added.

Accordingly, the MIB along with the ministry of consumer affairs and ministry of electronics and information technology convened a stakeholders consultative meeting on November 11 with ASCI, News Broadcasters Association (NBA), Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), All India Gaming Federation (AIGF), Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS) and the Online Rummy Federation (ORF), it said.

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As per the guidelines issued by the ASCI, no gaming advertisement should depict any person under the age of 18 years engaged in playing an online game for real money winnings or suggest that such persons can play these games.

Whether printed, audio or video, the advertisement must have a disclaimer if the game involves an element of financial risk and may be addictive, the advisory said.

It should not suggest that a person engaged in gaming activity is in any way more successful as compared to others, the ASCI added.