Dhaka, Oct 15 (V7N) — Faiz Ahmed Tayyab, Special Assistant to the Chief Advisor in charge of the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology, has said that ESPN Cricinfo has temporarily stopped displaying gambling advertisements following government intervention.

He made the announcement in a Facebook post on Wednesday (October 15) night.

Earlier on Monday (October 13), the ministry had sent an official email to Cricinfo requesting the immediate suspension of online gambling-related advertisements.

In his statement, Faiz Ahmed Tayyab wrote,

“All newspapers, online news portals, digital advertising agencies, content creators, and celebrities in the country have been urged not to engage in or promote gambling, betting, pornography, or immoral products and services.”

He further directed that local and regional media organizations must customize their websites, news portals, and mobile applications to block default AdSense and prevent the appearance of gambling or adult-related pop-ups and ads.

The special assistant also noted that international advertising platforms — including Google AdSense, Meta Ads, ISPs, and mobile operators — have been asked to comply with Bangladesh’s laws and ethical standards, particularly concerning ad filtering and pop-up blocking.

“Recently, it has been observed that some newspapers, portals, technology platforms, ISPs, commercial websites, and even electronic media are promoting content related to gambling, betting, and pornography,” he wrote, adding that such activities violate the Cyber Security Ordinance 2025 and the Pornography Control Act 2012.

Tayyab emphasized that the government will maintain a zero-tolerance policy in this regard. Websites found violating existing laws may face blocking or other legal actions, based on public feedback and compliance monitoring.

He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to keeping Bangladesh’s cyberspace “safe, ethical, and generation-friendly.”

END/SMA/AJ