Despite gaming crackdown, offshore betting apps thrive on surrogate advertising

The Online Gaming Act seems to be doing little to the offshore betting companies, who continue to aggressively target Indian users via surrogate advertising, celebrity endorsements and covert payment channels.

Last month, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) froze Rs 110 crore parked in mule bank accounts linked to Parimatch, a Cyprus-based betting platform accused of duping investors with high-return promises and routing funds through hawala, cryptocurrency, and unlicensed payment intermediaries. The agency also seized 1,200 credit cards during raids on the company’s Indian operations across Mumbai, Noida, Jaipur, Surat, Madurai, Kanpur and Hyderabad.