‘Ad for casual gaming’: Indian food delivery giant Swiggy reacts to backlash over Yolo247

Rajashree Seal January 20, 2025
‘Ad for casual gaming’: Indian food delivery giant Swiggy reacts to backlash over Yolo247

Swiggy, one of India’s leading food delivery platforms, has come under fire following its promotion of Yolo247, an offshore betting website. The promotion has faced sharp criticism, as it goes against the Indian government’s warnings about endorsing online gambling platforms. The controversy has sparked serious concerns about the ethical and legal implications of the company’s actions.

Amid the ongoing backlash, Swiggy dismissed the claims of promoting Yolo247 and stated that it was just an advertisement for casual gaming. Speaking to SiGMA World, the company said, “We were not promoting betting; it was simply an advertisement for casual gaming.”

The company further added that the campaign promoting Yolo247 is no longer active.

No room for online gambling endorsements

Earlier in 2024, India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting issued an advisory urging all endorsers and influencers on social media to refrain from promoting or advertising, including surrogate advertisements, of offshore online betting and gambling platforms. The Ministry has said that these advertisements have significant financial and socio-economic implications of online betting and gambling on consumers, particularly the youth.

The Ministry also advised online advertisement intermediaries not to target such promotional content to the Indian audience. Meanwhile, social media intermediaries were advised to conduct sensitisation efforts among their users to refrain from publishing such content.

The advisory further cautioned that failure to comply with it may lead to proceedings under the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, including removal or disabling of social media posts or accounts and penal action under the applicable statutes.

The advisory read, “While Section 79 of the IT Act, 2000 provides for exemption from liability of intermediaries for third party information, data, or communication link made available or hosted by them, Subsection (3)(b) of section 79 provides that the exemption from liability shall not apply if upon receiving actual knowledge, or on being notified by the appropriate Government or its agency that any information, data or communication link residing in or connected to a computer resource controlled by the intermediary is being used to commit the unlawful act, the intermediary fails to expeditiously remove or disable access to that material on that resource without vitiating the evidence in any manner.”

The Ministry also reiterated the advisory by the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) dated 6 March 2024, which had expressed concerns regarding endorsements of betting/gambling platforms by celebrities and influencers to endorse and promote their betting activities and had cautioned that any such direct or indirect advertisement or endorsement shall be subject to rigorous scrutiny.

Yolo247’s promotion on the Indian food delivery giant’s platform is part of a major issue where online betting platforms continue to use celebrity endorsements to gain attention despite government warnings. These platforms often exploit regulatory loopholes, enabling them to maintain a presence in the Indian market. The ongoing use of celebrity promotions and digital ads shows the difficulty in enforcing rules in India’s fast-growing digital market.

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