BCCI bans Women’s Premier League teams from appearing in crypto ads

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has banned crypto-related firms from advertising for teams playing in the upcoming Women’s Premier League (WPL). Authorities are concerned that such ads may pose a financial risk to viewers. Apart from crypto, advertisements promoting the use of gambling games and tobacco have also been added to the banned list by the BCCI.

PlanetSport issued by BCCI advisory “Franchisees may associate with firms in the fantasy sports segment. No Franchisee shall have any partnership or association with any entity that is directly or indirectly associated with the cryptocurrency industry in any manner ” For the first time this year, women cricketers from all over the world will participate in the Twenty Over format tournament. Five teams will participate in this tournament. Australia’s Ash Gardner and England’s Nat Sciver-Brunt have been the highest paid by WPL teams among foreign players. He has been included in his team by Gujarat Giants and Mumbai Indians.

Indian batsman Smriti Mandhana was the most expensive player in the auction for this tournament. Smriti has been given Rs 3.4 crore by Royal Challengers Bangalore. Last year, the Indian Premier League (IPL) tied-up with crypto exchanges CoinSwitch and CoinDCX. Both these exchanges gave their advertisements during the matches of this tournament. However, later BCCI during IPL crypto Advertisements related to were banned.

Work is on to enact a law for the crypto segment in the country. India, as the chair of the G20, along with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has started work on crypto-related laws that are applicable at the international level. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has warned that the next financial crisis will come from private cryptocurrencies. At the end of last year, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said that there is no value attached to cryptocurrencies and it is a risk to macroeconomic and financial stability. Even before this, there has been a demand from RBI to ban crypto.