
According to the IT rules of 2000, under section 69A,Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) blocked 581 applications. Out of the banned or blocked apps, 174 were related to betting and gaming, while 87 were debt apps. The information was provided by the Ministry for state and Finance Pankaj Chaudhary in the Parliament. The banned apps include Mahadev App, Permyac, Fairplay, 1XBet, Lott365, Dafabet, Betway, PubG, Garena Free Fire, among others.
The ED instructed the Information Directorate (ID) to shut down 22 betting apps and websites after disclosing information. In February of the current year, 138 betting apps and gaming websites were made inactive. To regulate online gaming apps, the government has amended the IGST Act. Registration is now mandatory before conducting business in India. The authority to shut down organizations and websites that do not comply with the rules lies with the government.
In October, the government identified 114 illegal betting and gambling apps using domain farming, as reported by the same publication. Subsequently, in February, the government took action by blocking 138 illegal betting and gaming websites. It’s worth noting that in July, the Central government amended the IGST Act, requiring offshore gaming companies to register in India. Additionally, the amendment empowered the Centre to block unregistered websites that violated laws. The betting platforms were found to be receiving UPI payments through proxy bank accounts, with funds channeled through hawala, crypto, and other illicit means.