More Than 230 Illegal Gaming, Betting & Loan Apps Banned By Central Government

Over 230 illegal loan applications, betting, and gambling operations were banned by the central government on Sunday, according to officials with knowledge of the situation.

An official stated that under section 69(A) of the IT Act, the ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) banned 94 loan apps as well as 138 betting or gambling websites and apps because they were engaging in money laundering and were posing a threat to the financial security of our nation.

After the decision to ban the apps, the IT ministry issued blocking orders based on an emergency request filed by the Nodal Officer of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

The government has previously banned more than 250 Chinese applications because they were harmful to the sovereignty and integrity of India, national security, security of the state, and public order.

Warnings Issue Previously Too

Last October, the centre issued a strict warning against showing betting advertisements on over-the-top (OTT) platforms like Netflix, Hotstar, Amazon Prime Video, and private satellite TV platforms. The warning stated that non-compliance with the warning could result in legal repercussions.

As stated in the central ministry's advisory, "The Paragraph 9 of the Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements for Misleading Advertisements 2022 under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, it has been observed that since betting and gambling are illegal, advertisements of online offshore betting and gambling platforms are prohibited", as reported by Hindustan Times.

The ministry noticed that there are still betting platform advertisements and promotional content on some OTT and news platforms. Members of a high-level inter-ministerial task force (IMTF) established by the government to develop rules and regulations for the online gaming industry proposed in November of last year that federal legislation be investigated to control online gambling. The individual states themselves have previously governed this topic.

However, because "betting & gambling" is a state subject, the IMTF's purview is limited to online games of skill (including those involving real money). As a result, online gambling-related issues are not covered by the IMTF.

Apps Pressured Users To Take Drastic Steps

When borrowers were unable to pay the interest, the operator of the apps put pressure on them. They threaten to reveal their altered photos and publicly disgrace them by sending them offensive messages to their connections. In other states, including Telangana and Odisha, a number of these cases have come to light.

It has been claimed that Chinese nationals who hired Indians and gave them operational director roles are the creators of these apps. Reports claim that needy people are coerced into taking out loans, only to discover that the interest rate rises by as much as 3,000% annually, as per reports of ANI.

Based on these details, the MHA examined 28 Chinese loan lending applications six months ago. However, they found that 94 apps were available through app stores and that others can be downloaded via links from other sources.

Also Read: Haryana: Karnal District To Focus On Improving Unbalanced Sex Ratio In Its Villages