The real-money gaming sector was the leading offender in terms of violation of advertising guidelines in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23), as per the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI).

Meanwhile, among the different advertising mediums, digital advertisements were the least compliant with the guidelines, ASCI said in its annual complaints report for FY23.

Talking about the real-money gaming sector, the report said it surpassed the education sector to emerge as the most violative sector. 92% of gaming advertisements reviewed by ASCI in FY23 did not adhere to the guidelines for real-money gaming and failed to inform consumers about the risks of financial loss and addiction.

“The sector also gained the dubious distinction of being the least complaint, with only 50% of ads being modified voluntarily after they have been called out,” ASCI said.

It must be noted that ASCI released its guidelines for the real-money gaming sector in December 2020. Thereafter, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting released an advisory asking all parties to comply with the guidelines.

ASCI said it reviewed 7,928 ads across different media, including print, digital, and television in FY23. While 7,581 of these processed ads required modifications, gaming ads accounted for 15% of the overall number.

ASCI said that TV and print advertisers continued to be highly compliant with the guidelines at 94%. However, the overall compliance came down to 81% due to digital ads, which were the leading violator medium. Digital ads were also the least compliant, accounting for 75% of the total processed ads.

“The digital advertising landscape is truly challenging us all and ASCI is no exception. Stepping up our surveillance through AI based tools and a robust complaint management system has ensured that ASCI is keeping pace with this dynamic environment. Updating our codes to reflect newer consumer concerns makes sure the ASCI codes remain contemporary,” NS Rajan, chairman of ASCI, said.

With a sharp rise in the number of internet users in India over the last few years, an increasing number of Indians are spending time on digital platforms. This has also resulted in a sharp growth in digital advertisements.

On the other hand, the gaming sector is a repeat offender. It also emerged as one of the top violative categories in terms of advertisement complaints received by ASCI in FY22, with fantasy gaming accounting for a significant chunk of complaints.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) notified the online gaming rules in April 2023 to protect children and other vulnerable sections from the negative impact of such games.

“The purpose of these amendments is to control the unabated and unwarranted negative impact of online gaming activities on users, especially children and other vulnerable sections of society,” the ministry said.

India’s gaming market size was estimated to be around $2.6 Bn in FY22 and was predicted to reach a size of $8.6 Bn by FY27, according to a report by Lumikai. The number of gamers in India stood at 507 Mn in FY22, growing at a CAGR of 12% from 450 Mn in FY21.