Betting ads have popped up on grocery app Zepto and on taxis operated by an Uber fleet provider, while items branded 1xBat, a mirror name for betting app 1xBet, sell on Amazon. Ads have also appeared on ATMs, billboards, metro stations as well as in print.

India has banned and blocked hundreds of offshore gambling platforms, but many of them still operate through so-called mirror sites-replicas of the original with a near-identical URL, and hosted on a different server. 

Meanwhile, many celebrities endorse and keep the betting platforms in public view, while tax authorities stare at lost revenue.

Also read: How online betting is staying alive, with celeb endorsements and sports merchandise

Industry reactions

Everest Fleet, Uber's biggest cab provider, said it became aware of the ads recently and takes the matter seriously. 

"Immediate steps are being taken to address the situation and ensure the removal of these ads. While we collaborate with partners for campaign management, we remain committed to reviewing future campaigns more closely. We are committed to maintaining the trust of our customers and partners and will continue to improve our processes to prevent such occurrences in the future," a spokesperson said.

Everest is Uber's biggest cab provider, operating thousands of vehicles. In September, Uber invested $30 million in the company. An Uber spokesperson did not respond to queries.

The Zepto app has displayed ads from Parimatch, a banned betting platform. When contacted, the company declined to comment. Amazon displays various sports goods branded 1xBat, a close imitation of 1xBet. 

An Amazon spokesperson said that Amazon.in operates as an online marketplace where independent third-party sellers offer and sell their products. 

"We require sellers to offer products which comply with applicable Indian laws and Amazon policies. We take necessary action against non-compliant product listings upon notification from relevant regulatory authorities. Amazon's Ads policy prohibits promotion or advertisement of online gambling and betting."

Persistent presence

Despite the government blocking them, Cyprus-based 1XBet and Parimatch and Curacao-based Fairplay remain highly visible through digital advertising, while escaping the tax payments that local gaming companies are subjected to. Offshore gaming companies operate under the legal frameworks of their home countries, often chosen for their favourable gambling regulations.

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Last month, the Directorate General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence (DGGI), along with the Union IT ministry, blocked 357 websites and URLs linked to illegal offshore gaming platforms. However, mirror sites proliferate, and users can easily bypass restrictions using VPNs. 

It's harder to block advertising, since many digital ads are automatically served across apps and websites without full control by the hosting platforms. Authorities also try to curb financial transactions and pressure platforms to restrict such ads.

"We don't distinguish between games of skill or chance—if you're operating in India, you're liable to pay 28% GST," a DGGI official said on the condition of anonymity, referring to the tax rate applicable for gaming companies in India. 

A second tax official said celebrities and cricketers who still endorse betting platforms need to avoid them "for the sake of national security."

In March, the Telangana police filed first investigation reports (FIRs) against Telugu film celebrities such as Rana Daggubati, Vijay Devarakonda and Prakash Raj. 

The complaint noted their promotion of both legal platforms like A23 and Junglee Rummy, as well as banned entities such as PariMatch and FairPlay. Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have legislated blanket bans on real-money gaming, including skill-based games.

"Regulating offshore companies is challenging, but we have to start somewhere," the second tax official cited above said. We're working closely with MeitY to target these illegal gaming entities, even though mirror sites complicate things. The IPL season always brings a spike in these activities; so we're ramping up enforcement. India loses significant revenue to these platforms as they evade taxes," the official said.

Uneven playing field

Betting platforms promise risk-free incentives, make exaggerated claims of winnings, and promise zero tax burden to lure unsuspecting users, said Roland Landers, chief executive officer of All India Gaming Federation. 

He said they often rely on celebrity endorsements and use misleading labels like 'Official Partner' and 'IPL Sponsor' to appear legitimate.

"These platforms flood digital spaces with ads, often through social media influencers, paid content and programmatic ad placements, taking up visibility that legitimate companies, bound by regulatory and advertising guidelines, cannot match. For example, betting brands like Stake, 1xBet, and FairPlay often appear across streaming platforms, unofficial sports commentary channels, and even prominent daily newspapers—masquerading as gaming or fantasy sports platforms," he said.

A recent Digital India Foundation report points to the scale of illegal gambling in India, counting 1.6 billion visits to four platforms—Parimatch, Stake, 1xBet and BatteryBet—in just three months. Parimatch's three mirror sites drew an additional 266 million visits. 

Google Search trends from February 2021 to December 2024 further reflected the growing interest in platforms like Dafabet, 1xBet, Parimatch, 4rabet, and Khelo24Bet—especially during the annual IPL season.

An advertising professional said on the condition of anonymity that betting platforms pay more to advertise, since they operate illegally and earn substantially more than legitimate advertisers. 

According to the gaming industry body's Landers, legitimate companies follow compliance requirements, including rules on IT, KYC and advertising, and pay significant taxes, while the illegal ones face none. 

"This creates a deeply uneven playing field and threatens the credibility of the sector overall, as consumers struggle to distinguish between legal and illegal entities," he stated.

Manisha Kapoor, CEO of Advertising Standards Council of India, said many Indian celebrities and social media influencers endorse offshore betting and gambling platforms, many of which operate without regulatory oversight. 

"Given that gambling advertisements are prohibited in most parts of India, the widespread presence of such promotions represents a clear violation of the law. ASCI continues to flag these ads to the appropriate regulatory authorities, highlighting their non-compliance and potential risks to the public," Kapoor said.

Varying state-level laws have also allowed companies to slip through regulatory gaps. For example, after the FIR named Deverakonda, his team claimed the ads ran only in states where skill-based games are legal. Daggubati issued a similar clarification. 

But with both actors domiciled in Telangana—where such platforms are blanket-banned—their claims raise questions about what counts as "compliance" under fragmented state laws.

 Grey legal zones

States like Tamil Nadu have attempted to crack down on online real-money gaming, but face ongoing legal hurdles. The state's 2022 law classified games like rummy and poker as "games of chance", rendering them illegal, citing rising addiction and gambling-linked suicides. 

However, the Madras High Court struck down similar bans twice, and the case is now before the Supreme Court. Enforcement remains unclear amid ongoing legal disputes and definitional grey areas.

Recently, Union IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in the Lok Sabha that online gaming platforms, when treated as intermediaries, fall under the Centre's jurisdiction.

"According to our constitutional arrangement, betting and gambling fall under Entry 34 of the State List in the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution. However, if we look at online gaming as an intermediary, it falls within the purview of the central government. So, in this complex framework, both states and the Centre must contribute," he said.

Some beg to differ.

Who's responsible?

"An intermediary is someone like Twitter or Facebook, which has no role in the content; users create the content. But here, they (betting companies) prepare the games themselves. It's not like a Play Store where all developers upload their games. They put their own games, they control the stakes, the formats, and even which players can play against whom. So, they are not intermediaries; they are publishers," said Jay Sayta, a technology and gaming lawyer.

According to Arvind Gupta, head of Digital India Foundation, most digital ads are run with no vetting. 

"Companies like Uber and Zepto probably make up just 5-10% of the ad market. The larger issue is with programmatic ads. They generally lack proper KYC, and you can't really tell just by looking at the ad whether it's legal or illegal, or whether it's onshore or offshore," said Gupta suggested that only advertisers presenting their GST IDs should be allowed to run their ads.

"With the technology available, especially at the hands of Big Tech, they can't claim it's not technically possible — they can easily do this. So, I think there has to be shared liability, plus complete ad chain transparency, especially for a high-risk sector like illegal gambling," he added.

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