As part of the Indian government’s strict measures relating to crypto, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has prohibited the women’s national cricket team from receiving any sponsorship from crypto-related firms and banned crypto advertisements.

According to a popular sports media outlet, the BCCI has disallowed women’s cricket teams to advertise cryptocurrency, blockchain, tobacco, and betting companies during the upcoming female iteration of the Indian Premier League, the Women’s Premier League (WPL).

The BCCI sent an advisory to participating teams of the inaugural edition of the WPL, outlining what is and is not allowed in terms of commercial associations and sponsorships. According to the advisory:

The workbook further states:

According to reports by Cointelegraph, the newest ban by the BCCI follows a previous ban for the men’s IPL, introduced in 2022. Prior to the ban, the IPL collaborated with two local cryptocurrency exchanges – CoinSwitch Kuber and CoinDCX. Interestingly, before the ban was introduced in March 2022, the crypto firms decided to no longer advertise in the IPL due to responsibility concerns.

India boasts one of the highest crypto adoption rates in the world, with an estimated 115 million investors. In 2022, the government introduced a crippling crypto tax policy requiring citizens to pay a 30% tax on income derived from cryptocurrencies. The country hoped the government would relax its stance on crypto in 2023, but according to the national budget for this year, it will not. As a matter of fact, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is calling for global crypto regulation. Clearly, the Indian government has no intention of relaxing its views regarding cryptoassets.

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.