gambling apps: NCPCR highlights lack of KYC norms for gambling apps, sites

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has written to the ministry of electronics and information technology highlighting the lack of KYC norms for gambling apps and websites, which it claims has led to unlawful participation of children on these platforms.

In a letter sent on Wednesday, the NCPCR said that a complaint from New Delhi-based trust ‘Society against gambling’ spoke of the “presence of numerous illegal online gambling websites and applications operating within the country, posing a significant threat to the future well-being of children”. ET has seen a copy of the letter.

These websites and apps are operating without proper registration in India and the absence of KYC norms for users of these gambling platforms further “exacerbates the risks associated with such activities,” the Commission said.

In the letter, NCPCR chairperson Priyank Kanoongo has also requested the IT ministry to share a detailed report of all such gambling apps and websites operating in India within 10 days. The NCPCR, an independent statutory body, is tasked with the protection of child and minor rights in the country. The letter also has details of more than a hundred gambling websites and applications which allegedly use social media messaging platforms such as Telegram to text the minors directly, thereby luring them to use these gambling apps and websites.