​​Sudurpaschim Royals Seen Promoting Betting Platform ‘Baji’ in NPL

Kathmandu: Sudurpaschim Royals have been found promoting an illegal betting platform through surrogate advertising in the second season of the Nepal Premier League (NPL). The team has placed the logo of a betting platform called ‘Baji Sports’ on its jersey.

The ‘Baji Sports’ logo was clearly visible on the jerseys worn by Royals players in their match against Kathmandu Gorkhas on Wednesday. Although ‘Baji Sports’ presents itself as a news portal, its background is tied to betting platforms such as ‘BJ88’ and ‘Baji Live’.

Last year as well, the Royals placed surrogate ads for another betting platform, ‘Babu88 Sports’, on their jerseys.

‘Baji’ is running a website called ‘baji88np.com’ targeting Nepali users. All details on that website are available in Nepali. The platform promotes itself as “Nepal’s famous online gambling platform.”

More concerning, the website lists Nepali payment options such as eSewa, Khalti and Connect IPS, showing how deeply this illegal network has spread in Nepal.

While the franchise team is promoting betting, the organizer CAN is also involved in similar activities. CAN is promoting the surrogate brand ‘Dafa News’, linked to the illegal betting platform ‘Dafa Bet’, as the official partner of the tournament.

After this matter surfaced, the Advertising Board is preparing to seek clarification from CAN. Meanwhile, CAN Secretary and former Nepali cricket captain Paras Khadka said that advertising deals with betting operators were made due to the lack of a clear policy on surrogate advertising.

Nepal’s laws, however, strictly ban gambling and betting. The Gambling Act, 2020 prohibits gambling or its promotion, and the Advertisement (Regulation) Act, 2076 BS clearly states that ads encouraging gambling or lottery purchases are not allowed.

 

पछिल्लो अध्यावधिक: मंसिर ४, २०८२ १३:४६

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