India Blocked More Than 1,500 Websites Since 2022

The Indian government has reportedly blocked as many as 1,524 gambling websites since 2022, through June 2025. The minister of state for electronics & IT, Jitin Prasada, confirmed the number as he was responding to the lower house of parliament, the Lok Sabha, giving details about how effective state deterrence against illegal gambling is.

India Continues to Crack Down on Illegal Gambling

The restrictive measures included online casinos, sweepstakes websites, and sports betting platforms, as well as companies that ran gambling ads and dedicated websites.

The latest number is a noticeable increase in the total gambling operators and associated companies targeted, as previously, in February, union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the number of blocked websites by then was 1,410.

India has been grappling with grey areas and illegal gambling for years now, with no federal law prohibiting or allowing most forms of gambling to run. Blocking orders have been issued through the Directorate General of GST Intelligence, or DGGI for its Indian acronym, which works under the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs.

At the same time, the Enforcement Directorate has launched a probe into illegal betting and gambling platforms that now specifically focuses on technological giants such as Google and Meta.

India is looking to ensure that Meta and Google are not helping gambling operators to push their ads, whether knowingly or unknowingly. While regulated gambling markets such as Italy, the Netherlands, and the UK usually have a much stronger legal recourse, India is approaching the issue from the standpoint of a grey market.

Meta and Google Are Also Targeted in Latest Probe

Regardless, the Enforcement Directorate is now looking into whether the platforms have, in any way, facilitated illegal gambling. The country’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has prohibited such ads from proliferating on social media platforms, as well as Google, and has put the onus on the respective companies to police the matter.

The investigation into illegal gambling promotions has already targeted media outlets, hawala operators, celebrities, and app developers. Meta and Google’s executives have also been summoned to appear in court on July 21, and they will now have to appear on July 28.