The ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) on Wednesday informed Parliament that it had issued directions to block 1,410 betting, gambling and gaming websites in the last three years.
The ministry’s response came on a question by Lok Sabha members Ravindra Vasantrao Chavan (Congress), Sudheer Gupta (BJP) and Dhairyasheel Sambhajirao Mane (Shiv Sena) seeking details on the steps taken by the government to put checks on online gaming and betting platforms involved in money laundering and other illegal activities.
“MeitY has issued 1,410 blocking directions related to online betting/gambling/gaming websites (including mobile applications) between the year 2022-25 (till February 2025),” said Jitin Prasada, minister of state for electronics and information technology.
He said the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) was also investigating offshore entities involved in the supply of money to online gaming, betting and gambling platforms.
“So far, 357 websites/URLs of illegal/non-compliant offshore online money gaming platforms have been blocked by the DGGI, in coordination with MeitY, under the IT Act. In two other separate cases, the DGGI has collectively blocked nearly 2,400 bank accounts and frozen nearly ₹126 crore,” Prasada said.
He added that the DGGI had urged people to remain cautious and not engage with offshore online money gaming platforms.
