Restricting online betting

Betting and gambling are not permissible in Bangladesh. But that does not mean that there is no  betting on sports in the country. From physical space, sports betting has largely shifted to the virtual world over the past few years. Now it takes place in the guise of online gaming like PUBG, Free Fire or through betting on different sports events. A large number of youths are getting addicted to online gambling day by day. And there are hundreds of betting sites, social media pages and groups that constantly air tempting advertisements of 'winning money'. The youths fall prey to such paid commercials and download the betting apps. Then they recharge their virtual wallet from mobile financial service outlets and easily take part in betting. The entire task seems to have become more comfortable with the availability of credit or debit cards.

What is more alarming is that not just the urban youths who are spending their time and resourses to various online sports betting rackets. Rather, teenagers in villages are getting addicted to these online betting platforms. Most of these youths have smartphones. Earlier, they used to use it for watching YouTube contents and browsing social media platforms. But nowadays, they are often seen glued to their phones when a cricket match goes on, mainly to bet online. What prompts them most to bet is tempting advertisements. Some of these betting advertisements are targeting specific age-groups and regions of the country. And the advertisement techniques seem to be effective as more and more targeted audience in rural Bangladesh are reportedly using these sites. As their parents do not know what they are actually doing on the phones, they cannot take action against them. Of late, star cricketer Shakib Al Hasan has come under fire for appearing in a television commercial of a betting site, aired by a private TV station during a cricket match. Shakib eventually cancelled his agreement with the site but the effect it had on his fans was quite damaging.

Online betting has been growing rapidly in recent years, and its tempting advertisements have led to this expansion. This has created a greater risk of gambling addiction and financial ruin. And if we want to save our younger generation from this addiction, we must stop advertisement campaigns run by the betting rackets. In a welcome move, the High Court has recently directed the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) to immediately block all visible online gambling websites so that they cannot advertise on digital platforms. Last year, the BTRC blocked a total of 331 online betting sites. But this could not stop online betting in Bangladesh. New sites are emerging every day with new advertising techniques. So, what Bangladesh can do is to ask international technology companies like Google Search Engine, Playstore, Facebook and YouTube to remove apps and links related to online gambling or betting. Besides, the current gambling law that dates back to the British rule does not cover online betting. It is one of the reasons for the lax penalty for online betting. So, there should be strict laws in the country to prohibit online betting.

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