One of thefindingsng finding mentioned in the report is that the organic search traffic to illegal betting sites crosbout with 184 million visits. The organic search figure exceeds the traffic driven by social media platforms, which contributed around 42.8 million visits, as per the data mentioned in the report.
As per the report, despite repeated government interventions, including the blocking of websites and public advisories, illegal operators are continuously thriving.
A key concern raised by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance in 2023 was the role of online betting sites in enabling money laundering and terror financing, the report added.
“1.098 billion visits to illegal platforms originated from users directly entering URLs–indicating success of past marketingreferrals, etc.errals etc,” the report added.
Going further, the report pointed out that experience fromjurisdictions,isdictions includinthe UK,orway, UK, Denmark, Belgium, and tStates,ted States shows that blocking alone is ineffective.
These countries have seen greater success by combining website blocking with marketing restrictions, payment blocking, and the use of whitelists and blocklists, the report added.
The report further suggested that India must adopt a holistic, ecosystem-based approach to address the surge in illegal betting and gambling.
“India must shift from the current fragmented enforcement strategy to a comprehensive ecosystem-based approach that effectively disrupts the key enablers sustaining illegal betting and gambling operations,” the report added.
