Islamabad
\nPakistan captain Babar Azam and wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan rejected lucrative offers from betting companies, according to The News.
\nDespite the PCB\u2019s collaboration with surrogate betting companies in Pakistan, including their partnership with Dafa News, Babar and Rizwan refused millions of rupees offered by the illegal companies, documented emails present with The News unfold.
\nThe Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), in clear violation of the rules, accepted sponsorship from a surrogate betting sponsor like Dafa News which allegedly not only opened the floodgate for more than 150 illegal surrogate betting sites and apps to operate in Pakistan on all digital platforms but also allegedly led to some of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchises forcing players on individual levels to accept shirt logos and give image rights to the illegal betting companies.
\nA source in one of the betting companies also disclosed that Babar had refused a Rs250 million yearly contract while Rizwan rejected a Rs100 million yearly contract by just one surrogate betting company solely because such sponsorships and contracts were against the law.
\nIt is pertinent to mention here that Rizwan, who is the captain of Multan Sultans, refused to put the logo of WOLF777 on his kit during the last PSL tournament.
\nAn email sent to Babar Azam by the 1XBET betting company \u2014 proof of which is available with this scribe \u2014 stated that the company was impressed by the player\u2019s social media platform and wanted to do work with him. However, the reply by Saya Corporation, which is responsible for Babar Azam\u2019s individual sponsorships, investments and advertisement, said, \u201cThank you. As Muslims, we do not support any betting or surrogate betting brands. Thank you for reaching out.\u201d This email is also present with The News.
\nThe same kind of offer was sent to Rizwan where the response was the same, a documented email shared by the source revealed.
\nThe source further revealed that the PCB had given image rights of Babar and Rizwan to these betting companies against their will. This source also provided The News with digital media ads of 1XBET using their images against their will and allegedly under the blanket image rights approval granted to the surrogate betting companies because of their sponsorship to the PCB, PSL and some of PSL franchises.
\n\u201cBabar, Rizwan along with others have clearly refused contracts from such companies yet the PCB along with PSL franchises has given their image rights to us,\u201d said the source.
\nAccording to the source, some of Pakistan Super League franchises also forced players to wear the logo of these surrogate betting companies at all costs which is a clear violation of the freedom of speech and freedom of rights of the players.
\nThe PCB\u2019s code of conduct or rules clearly states, \u201cThe Services\/ Campaign shall not support any activity (commercial or otherwise) associated with betting, gambling, tobacco, alcohol, illegal drugs, weapons, obscene of sexually explicit language; which advocates the violation of Pakistani law or PCB\u2019s policies\u201d.
\nWhen contacted, the PCB spokesperson told The News that since the \u2018Zero Tolerance Against Surrogate Betting Companies\u2019 notification by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, no such sponsor had been engaged.
\n\u201cDafa News is a news organization. Its paperwork was scrutinized by our legal and commercial departments and no common ownership stake was identified with a betting concern,\u201d the spokesperson maintained.
\nIt is pertinent to mention here that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has categorically stated Dafa News as a surrogate betting company operating in Pakistan through a notification issued on September 25.
\n\u201cThe PCB strictly prohibits all forms of betting or associated activities. Certain news sites may have been sponsors but it has always been ensured that there is no ownership overall of any sort in terms of their certificate of incorporation and shareholders with any alleged betting concerns,\u201d the spokesperson maintained.
\nExplaining further, the spokesperson said that there were allegations against these companies which have not been ratified by a court of law.
\n\u201cHowever needless to say, the PCB will abide by all relevant laws and ethical provisions in terms of seeking sponsors for all upcoming events,\u201d he added.
\nThe surrogate betting companies infiltrated into Pakistan through cricket when ads started to appear in Pakistan cricket around 2021. As of the PSL 2023, four out of the total six PSL franchises boarded betting surrogates as their key sponsors and the PCB failed to regulate them.
\nThe government has initiated a crackdown on more than 150 surrogate betting companies operating in Pakistan causing billions of dollars of loss to the national economy, The News recently reported.
\nMinister for Information and Broadcasting Murtaza Solangi revealed to The News that all institutions were united along with the military establishment in eliminating the betting companies. However, after more than a month since the issuance of the notification by the government, all betting applications are still running and no action has been taken by the authorities till now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Islamabad Pakistan captain Babar Azam and wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan rejected lucrative offers from betting companies, according to The News. Despite the PCB\u2019s collaboration with surrogate betting companies in Pakistan, including their partnership with Dafa News, Babar and Rizwan refused millions of rupees offered by the illegal companies, documented emails present with The News unfold. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":366466,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-366438","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n