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With IPL 2025 in full swing, the tournament isn’t just a battleground for cricketing giants—it’s also a goldmine for betting and fantasy sports apps looking to cash in on the frenzy. As millions of viewers tune in, these platforms are ramping up their advertising like never before, flooding digital, social, and even surrogate promotions to capture user attention.
A media buyer from the outdoor sector told e4m on the condition of anonymity, “Clients of betting apps often generate substantial profits and are willing to pay two to three times more than regular clients. This makes it relatively easy for advertisers promoting these apps to run their campaigns.”
In 2024, media reports indicated that offshore betting apps collectively spent nearly ?70 crore on advertisements during IPL, leveraging surrogate promotions and influencer marketing to bypass regulatory restrictions.
Meanwhile, according to a Redseer report, the total advertising expenditure during IPL 2023 surged to approximately ?10,000 crore, with fantasy gaming platforms playing a major role. The top three platforms dominated 96% of the market share during the season, achieving an average revenue per user of ?458, highlighting the effectiveness of their aggressive marketing strategies.
Similarly, in IPL 2022, media reports said that esports and gaming companies invested over ?1,000 crore in marketing, aiming to drive 20-30% growth in their user base during the tournament. For instance, My11Circle launched a 14-film ad campaign featuring prominent cricketers and reportedly allocated over ?50 crore to IPL related promotions. The media buyer further said that most betting apps operate offshore. “Since they earn in foreign currency, the higher advertising costs in INR are negligible for them. Legal concerns are also minimal, as they can easily cover any penalties in INR without significant impact. If restrictions arise in one region, they can simply shift their ads elsewhere.”
With such heavy investments in marketing - the question of rules and regulations always persist. Regulatory bodies have flagged concerns over consumer protection, ethical advertising, and the legality of offshore betting promotions. Manisha Kapoor, CEO & Secretary General, ASCI said, “The high presence of betting and betting related advertisements across TV, digital, influencer marketing, and OOH platforms does raise consumer protection concerns. ASCI remains committed to responsible advertising by proactively monitoring and flagging misleading and illegal advertisements. To strengthen this effort, we recently signed an MoU with online gaming federations to establish a dedicated monitoring cell that identifies and reports offshore betting ads to the relevant ministries.”
The grey area around the betting apps was further explained by Chandrima Mitra, Partner, DSK Legal, who said that there are multiple advisories and directives from the ASCI and the Consumer Affairs ministry completely restricting betting or gambling-related ads. However, what they are allowed is a legitimate brand extension, provided such brand extension meets the criterion set out in the guidelines.
She further explained, “In India, through multiple cases, the courts have held that games of skill are allowed while games of chance are not. Following this principle, the Supreme Court and some other High Courts have determined that fantasy games, where users have to use skill, have been classified as not gambling. However, games based on chance, without using skills, have been determined as gambling and are not allowed. Real money gambling is not allowed, but real money gaming where the users have to use skill to play the game is allowed.”
Kapoor further added that in just the first two months of 2025, ASCI has already reported 1100 such ads to the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting. To put this in perspective, ASCI flagged 1,336 ads in the entire year from April 2023 to March 2024, which led to government action. “This dramatic increase in reporting within such a short timeframe showcases our enhanced monitoring capabilities and the high prevalence of these ads. ASCI is working hard to identify and escalate such ads to the government for further action,” she said.
Mitra also highlighted that the platforms really need to keep in mind that these ads are not allowed. “Betting and gambling ads, as mentioned, are not allowed. There are lots of surrogate advertising that happens but that’s also not allowed. The govt has pulled up some of the platforms for carrying ads of overseas betting platforms. The only allowance in case for advertising of this sector, is for a legitimate brand extension which meets the criteria. Even for skill based games, which are allowed, there are guidelines for the manner in which they need to put disclaimers in the ads, etc,” she concluded.
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