New Delhi: Lotus 365 has been in the buzz since IPL 2023 began and has been adding the number of subscribers despite facing a ban in February this year. There are users who claim to have lost money and some were not able to use the discounts offered. Following their ads in newspapers, there has been a clamour of netizens demanding a ban on betting sites like Lotus365.
The website was among the 138 betting portals banned last month for their Chinese affiliations. Despite a crackdown, they have been issuing advertisements in newspapers and celebs including Kajal Aggarwal, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Tamnnaah Bhatia, Niddhi Agerwal, Tejasswi Prakash, Urvashi Rautela and many others have been seen in these online and newspaper ads.
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The gambling and betting company was also the principal sponsor of Asia Lions in the recently concluded Legends League Cricket, which also came after their ban.
Onboarding Lotus365News as the Principal Sponsor for @AsiaLionsLLC
Catch #LLCMasters live from 10th March. pic.twitter.com/1w2vwDtDAz
— Legends League Cricket (@llct20) February 25, 2023
The company has changed its domain from lotus365.com to lotus365.in after facing the ban. Their website is a customer care portal that takes the user to WhatsApp, where they can register with the firm and can put in their money in different games offered.
Will govt step-in to cease its functions?
There are several grounds for a crackdown and netizens are demanding a ban on Lotus365. It was already banned, but is still giving full-page ads and has celebrities as its brand ambassadors. It, reportedly, does not verify documents from a new subscriber, hence not conforming to standards of KYC verification. They now function using WhatsApp. Users not registering through their website can directly contact them on the WhatsApp numbers given in the ads.
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If the firm had some Chinese links, the government is expected to look into it. With increased discourse around such betting apps, the public hopes that the Centre might take a step toward ceasing its functioning or put some other form of regulation.
Will Google Play Store de-stall it?
Following the ban, users cannot install the app and use its services. However, there are several other betting apps available with the title of Lotus365. While the webstite is still functioning, the question arises why it is still in operation and will Google call out its ambiguous operations.
