Authorities in India have announced new guidelines that prohibit advertisements or promotional content of online betting ahead of the Asia Cup cricket league, commencing August 31st.

According to reports, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has notified all media and social media platforms as well as online advertisement agencies that failure to do so could lead to legal action.

Authorities cited by Yogonet note that “there is a tendency to spike promotion of such betting and gambling platforms during a major sporting event, especially cricket”.

The Asia Cup begins on Thursday, while the Cricket World Cup commences the first week of October.

The notice follows similar mandates regarding the Indian Premier League.

The new advisory indicates that the government had recently taken efforts to shut down an agent network which garnered money via gambling apps and sent out offshore. It also claims links between the activity and money laundering networks, claiming dirty funds could be being used to pay for the advertisements.