India Cracks Down on Gambling, Betting and Loan Services Apps

Presently, the government intends to block more than 200 apps, 138 of which offer betting and gambling products, with another 94 said to be offering loan services to consumers. None of those companies has the necessary license to do so, and many are not registered as companies, to begin with.

India is effectively stepping up its efforts to eliminate loan sharks from its market and protect citizens who may be vulnerable to falling victim to or sharing financial and personal data with such unauthorized platforms. India, though, has been banning a number of apps beyond this community.

Loan sharking apps have been a particularly important issue to individual states and the federal government, with the annual interest fees raked up by these fees up to 3,000% of the original loan. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology is in the process of shutting down the aforementioned and identified apps, and the move has been approved by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

India Determined to Shut Down Apps That Pose Risk to Consumers

While gambling apps are being targeted, India is concerned about the geopolitical rivalry with China, with the country having been suspending a number of applications that are somehow connected to China.

India has been suspending a number of apps. Last year, the country acted against seemingly innocuous apps, such as Free Fire, a popular game by Garena, Xriver by Tencent, NetEase’s Onmyoji Arena and Astracraft and more than 50 others. The betting and gambling apps caught in the present barrage are not necessarily tied to China, however, although a report by Reuters argued to the contrary.

Some of the betting and loan apps targeted though may be based in China and not necessarily running with the blessing of the government. India has already banned popular apps such as TikTok and WeChat, which are massively used in China by Chinese customers.

All apps on the list still pose a threat and risk to Indian customers, though, officials contended over the weekend, with India now determined to shut those and other potential threats to the country’s national security.