The Women's Cricket League in India has recently implemented a ban on cryptocurrency advertisements and sponsorships.
This decision was made in order to protect the integrity of the league and ensure that the focus remains on the sport itself.
The ban is a reflection of the league's commitment to providing a safe and secure environment for its players and fans.
In banning commercial affiliations and other sponsorships with cryptocurrency companies for women's teams.
Indian authorities have once again demonstrated their hardline stance on cryptocurrencies with a preemptive ban on crypto advertising and sponsorships in the Women's Premier League.
As reported by Planet Sport on February 14th, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) sent a 68-page advisory to the WPL teams, specifying the activities which couldn't be advertised. Cryptocurrencies were mentioned among the gambling and tobacco industries, with the document stating that :
“No franchisee may enter into a partnership or other type of relationship with a company that is somehow affiliated to or otherwise associated with one that is active, directly or indirectly, in the cryptocurrency industry.”
This ban comes after a prior one for the Premier League of Men's Cricket, which was put into effect back in 2022. The Indian Premier League had partnerships with at least two regional cryptocurrency exchanges prior to the ban, namely CoinSwitch Kuber and CoinDCX. It's interesting to note that in March 2022, the cryptocurrency companies chose not to advertise in the Premier League due to ethical concerns.
India, home to an estimated 115 million cryptocurrency investors, introduced two laws in 2022, demanding crippling taxes on crypto-related unrealized gains and transactions, and requiring its citizens to pay a 30% tax on unrealized crypto gains. This latest ban on crypto advertising and sponsorships in the Women's Premier League is yet another example of the Indian government's hardline stance on cryptocurrencies.
The national budget for 2023 didn't provide the change that some investors had hoped would relieve the strain on the cryptocurrency sector this year. Since the country's finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, supports a worldwide regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies, it's unlikely that there would be any significant changes to the Indian law that are begun on their own.
Following a string of platform failures and bankruptcies, cryptocurrency advertising became a hot topic for international regulators and enforcement bodies. For failing to comply with specific standards for promotion, CEOs of cryptocurrency firms in the United Kingdom may be sentenced to up to two years in prison under recently proposed advertising guidelines.
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