Betting companies infiltrated Pakistan through the cricket board of the country under the tenure of former prime minister Imran Khan, according to a report in The News.&nbsp;

The revelation comes a week after the Pakistan government started a crackdown on 150 illegal betting surrogate brands that have presumably caused billions in losses to the country's economy.&nbsp;

The report states that in 2021 when Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) was in power and Ehsaan Mani was the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) president, a no-objection certificate (NOC) was issued to Dafa News - a prominent betting website. Subsequently, the company's ads started to appear in Pakistan cricket.&nbsp;

According to Pakistan's Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Dafa News is originally a betting company, recognised as ‘Dafabet’, 1XBET as 1XBat, WOLF111 as woLF111 and MELBET as MELBAT.

Since then, over 150 companies have started operations in the subcontinent nation. While these companies have become an intrinsic part of Pakistan's international cricket branding, four teams in the Pakistan Super League (the country's marquee T20 franchise tournament) have also onboarded the surrogate betting companies as their key sponsors.

The Pakistani government is of the view that the betting companies are inducing corruption in the sporting sector of the country and putting the economy into further turmoil by getting people addicted to gambling.&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/world-cup-2023-rift-brewing-in-pakistan-dressing-room-pcb-releases-a-statement-650274">Also read |&nbsp;World Cup 2023: Rift brewing in Pakistan dressing room? PCB releases a statement</a>

<h2>Pak govt's advice falls on deaf ears&nbsp;</h2>

PCB has been advised by the government to immediately terminate its contract with Dafa News and others. However, the board is yet to take any call saying no order has come from the government.&nbsp;

“They have advised us. There was no command or order," a PCB spokesperson was quoted as saying by the publication.&nbsp;

“Time will decide about the fate of our agreements with such companies as nothing has been proved so far. For now, the PCB is trying its best to keep itself distant from any betting company," the spokesperson added.&nbsp;

Notably, gambling is strictly prohibited in Islam and banned across the country. However, using surrogate means and promoting themselves as fantasy platforms, these companies are working around the law.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

Betting companies infiltrated Pakistan through the cricket board of the country under the tenure of former prime minister Imran Khan, according to a report in The News.

Betting companies infiltrated Pakistan through the cricket board of the country under the tenure of former prime minister Imran Khan, according to a report in The News. The revelation comes a week after the Pakistan government started a crackdown on 150 illegal betting surrogate brands that have presumably caused billions in losses to the country's economy. The report states that in 2021 when Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) was in power and Ehsaan Mani was the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) president, a no-objection certificate (NOC) was issued to Dafa News - a prominent betting website. Subsequently, the company's ads started to appear in Pakistan cricket. According to Pakistan's Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Dafa News is originally a betting company, recognised as ‘Dafabet’, 1XBET as 1XBat, WOLF111 as woLF111 and MELBET as MELBAT. Since then, over 150 companies have started operations in the subcontinent nation. While these companies have become an intrinsic part of Pakistan's international cricket branding, four teams in the Pakistan Super League (the country's marquee T20 franchise tournament) have also onboarded the surrogate betting companies as their key sponsors. The Pakistani government is of the view that the betting companies are inducing corruption in the sporting sector of the country and putting the economy into further turmoil by getting people addicted to gambling. Also read | World Cup 2023: Rift brewing in Pakistan dressing room? PCB releases a statement Pak govt's advice falls on deaf ears PCB has been advised by the government to immediately terminate its contract with Dafa News and others. However, the board is yet to take any call saying no order has come from the government. “They have advised us. There was no command or order," a PCB spokesperson was quoted as saying by the publication. “Time will decide about the fate of our agreements with such companies as nothing has been proved so far. For now, the PCB is trying its best to keep itself distant from any betting company," the spokesperson added. Notably, gambling is strictly prohibited in Islam and banned across the country. However, using surrogate means and promoting themselves as fantasy platforms, these companies are working around the law. (With inputs from agencies)

Betting companies entered and flourished in Pakistan during former prime minister Imran Khan's tenure: Report

Entain, a British betting company has revealed that it made significant gains in revenue due to the Qatar World Cup as customers gambled big time. The company accounted that its pre-tax profits stood between $1.

Entain, a British betting company has revealed that it made significant gains in revenue due to the Qatar World Cup as customers gambled big time. The company accounted that its pre-tax profits stood between $1.21 billion (£985m) and $1.23 billion (£995m) for the full year. The figure beat Entain's previous estimate of landing anywhere between $1.1 billion (£925m) and $1.20 billion (£975m). Despite the initial scepticism, the World Cup in Qatar happened to be one of the most entertaining and thrilling World Cups of all time. Thus, it shouldn't come as a surprise that betting companies made a fortune during the tournament and raked in record profits. Entain, which also owns Coral and gaming websites said its net gaming revenue rose 12 per cent in the last three months of 2022 when the World Cup took place as the consumer numbers touched record levels. After the company released its financials, the stock market responded kindly as Entain's shares shot up more than two per cent on the FTSE 100 during Wednesday's trading session. Read more: Lionel Messi reveals his Instagram account was blocked after World Cup victory Alongside Argentina, it was Brazil, England, France and Germany that received the major share of money from the punters. Argentina winning the World Cup was not only a monumental feat for football fans who wanted Lionel Messi - arguably the greatest footballer in history to win the trophy but also for the betting companies, who had dubbed La Albiceleste as the hot favourites. France and Argentina squared up in the final with both Messi and Kylian Mbappe stepping up for their respective teams. In the end, it was Argentina that prevailed on the penalties to emerge victorious. While FIFA is yet to release the complete viewership numbers, it is expected that a record number of people watched the quadrennial event which translated into extra millions of dollars for the betting companies. Read more: FIFA World Cup 2022: Mesmerising Messi’s Argentina fulfill the dream by beating France on penalties in final (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE:

Not Messi but betting companies emerge as the biggest winners from Qatar World Cup

A report on the website MoneyControl has cited the stark difference between offshore betting sites and online gaming business in India. While lack of government regulations and guidelines, major taxation issues, and Google’s policy changes&nbsp;have made things tough for the gaming industry, betting sites are reaping the moolah.

The website reports that a dozen companies such as Dafabet, Betway, Bet365, Parimatch, Fairplay, and 1xbet, have earned more from Indian punters in the last two years than many of India’s top online gaming operators. The Indian online gaming industry is losing a whopping $25-30 billion to these gambling sites.

These companies are incorporated in places such as Malta, Curacao, Belize, Gibraltar, and Isle of Man where there aren’t any regulations to control their operations. Although the owners are mostly Indians, with one such site being owned by a famous fugitive duo. Reports suggest that this site had organised a party in Dubai recently which had&nbsp; several Bollywood celebrities in attendance.

They adopt surrogate advertising to promote their website since Indian law discourages direct promotion of gambling and betting sites. So what they do is they open their own news websites with quirky names. Their clickable banner advertisements can be seen on several websites. They also sponsor sports teams who then adorn their logos on their jerseys.

Offshore betting sites have even shook hands with the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) to improve their networking and reach, which clearly sends the wrong message on the matter.

With their deep pockets, these companies easily buy advertisement spots on OTT platforms and television. As per the figures reported by MoneyControl, the top six operators alone garner about Rs 5,500 crore of deposits every month in India.

The laws around offshore betting sites aren’t very clear in India. The Public Gaming Act 1867 is outdated and does not suit the present scenario. The Advertisement Standards Council of India (ASCI) guidelines talk about a code for self-regulation in advertising and as such compliance is voluntary when it comes to online advertising. But for television, it is mandated by the law under the Cable Television Act but is hardly followed.

Since the government is incurring a major loss of revenue, it is trying to regulate betting sites. While gaming sites that appear to be a facade for gambling are being tackled by ordinances in many states, offshore betting sites still seem to&nbsp; fall far out of any such purview because of the way they operate.

(With inputs from agencies)

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A report on the website MoneyControl has cited the stark difference between offshore betting sites and online gaming business in India. While lack of government regulations and guidelines, major taxation issues, and Google’s policy changes have made things tough for the gaming industry, betting sites are reaping the moolah.

A report on the website MoneyControl has cited the stark difference between offshore betting sites and online gaming business in India. While lack of government regulations and guidelines, major taxation issues, and Google’s policy changes have made things tough for the gaming industry, betting sites are reaping the moolah. The website reports that a dozen companies such as Dafabet, Betway, Bet365, Parimatch, Fairplay, and 1xbet, have earned more from Indian punters in the last two years than many of India’s top online gaming operators. The Indian online gaming industry is losing a whopping $25-30 billion to these gambling sites. These companies are incorporated in places such as Malta, Curacao, Belize, Gibraltar, and Isle of Man where there aren’t any regulations to control their operations. Although the owners are mostly Indians, with one such site being owned by a famous fugitive duo. Reports suggest that this site had organised a party in Dubai recently which had several Bollywood celebrities in attendance. They adopt surrogate advertising to promote their website since Indian law discourages direct promotion of gambling and betting sites. So what they do is they open their own news websites with quirky names. Their clickable banner advertisements can be seen on several websites. They also sponsor sports teams who then adorn their logos on their jerseys. Offshore betting sites have even shook hands with the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) to improve their networking and reach, which clearly sends the wrong message on the matter. With their deep pockets, these companies easily buy advertisement spots on OTT platforms and television. As per the figures reported by MoneyControl, the top six operators alone garner about Rs 5,500 crore of deposits every month in India. The laws around offshore betting sites aren’t very clear in India. The Public Gaming Act 1867 is outdated and does not suit the present scenario. The Advertisement Standards Council of India (ASCI) guidelines talk about a code for self-regulation in advertising and as such compliance is voluntary when it comes to online advertising. But for television, it is mandated by the law under the Cable Television Act but is hardly followed. Since the government is incurring a major loss of revenue, it is trying to regulate betting sites. While gaming sites that appear to be a facade for gambling are being tackled by ordinances in many states, offshore betting sites still seem to fall far out of any such purview because of the way they operate. (With inputs from agencies)

Offshore betting sites are ending up with fatter pockets amid sparse regulations in India