Officials shrug off illegal betting ad in cricket broadcast

ISLAMABAD: Despite a declared policy of “zero tolerance” towards surrogate betting companies, the federal government — particularly the concerned officials — appears to have shrugged off responsibility after a private Pakistani sports channel aired a betting company’s hologram during a live broadcast match.

The concerned officials downplayed the incident, claiming the logo was embedded in the live feed from the Indian broadcaster and could not be removed by the local channel. However, this explanation contradicts standard broadcasting protocols and fails to explain how the betting advertisement was not visible on the original Indian transmission — but appeared only in the Pakistani broadcast.

In stark contrast to this passive response, in 2023 when a betting company’s logo was aired during a Pakistan vs Australia series, the -state-run TV Sports’ transmission was halted, launched a formal inquiry, and initiated disciplinary proceedings after discovering that the surrogate advertisement was inserted locally by the broadcaster itself.

Sunday’s incident reveals a growing gap between government policy and enforcement. Technical sources confirm that parent broadcasters typically provide a clean feed to license holders in each country.

Responding on social media, the concerned official stated: “As far as Pakistan’s sports grounds and Pakistan’s sports teams are concerned, there is no question of placement of any betting advertisements... it is an issue of those countries, not ours.”

Critics argue that the government’s failure to investigate, regulate, or penalize such practices effectively enables the return of banned betting brands through surrogate marketing. After the official response, this correspondent sent further questions about the matter, which remained unanswered.