PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Thursday disposed of a petition against the alleged sponsorship of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) by international betting companies and casinos through surrogate advertising, as the Pakistan Cricket Board said it had prohibited such companies from sponsoring national cricket and PSL teams.

A bench consisting of the Chief Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim and Justice Wiqar Ahmad directed the PCB to adhere to its stated position and ensure betting companies don’t sponsor teams or put their logos on the shirts of national cricket team or PSL players.

The petition, filed by resident Syed Tanseer Ahmad Sherazi, sought orders for the federal government to probe the matter and stop PSL teams from getting sponsored by casinos.

He had challenged sponsorship of PSL and PCB events by surrogate corporations of international betting companies and casinos.

PCB says it has prohibited betting

The bench announced a short order on the petition. The detailed judgement will be released later.

The petitioner’s counsel, Nouman Muhib Kakakhel, argued that betting was prohibited in Pakistan, but through those surrogate companies, young generation was attracted by PSL sponsorships, by writing their names on the franchise’s shirts, to bet in the cricket by using different mobile phone applications.

In these applications, he said, available for both Android and IOS users, Pakistanis could easily put in money in their respective profiles from their bank accounts or microfinance companies and the amount was further used for betting.

He argued that these betting companies had their helpline toll numbers in Pakistan as well who helped an individual put in money in a betting account to bet on various sports events.

He claimed that these companies show themselves to be sports news and sports utilities manufacturersbut their products were not available or making enough profits as they were not focused, whereas, when they were searched on the internet, they were found to be surrogate companies of gambling foreign corporations, with an identical name and logo.

Advocate Shahid Qayyum Khattak appeared for the PCB and submitted certain documents insisting many meetings were held by PCB with other stakeholders, wherein it was made clear that no surrogate corporations of gambling companies and casinos would be allowed to sponsor any PSL team or the Pakistani national cricket national team.

In its comments, the PCB said it had told all franchises regarding enforcement of the government’s position with respect to surrogate entities. It added that the PCB had never directly engaged or executed a contract with any surrogate entity.

However, the PCB said it had no control on matters related to sponsorship when players attend international events arranged and managed by other international boards or regulators.

It added that if Pakistan refused to take part in international events, it would lead to isolation and foreign teams won’t attend events hosted by Pakistan.

“Moreover, a significant portion of revenues of PCB is derived from participation in ICC events such as World Cup and Champion Trophy. Taking such a step would only hurt Pakistan cricket, and ultimately also hinder all the progress which has been made to bring international cricket back home,” it observed.

Counsel for the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority Jehanzeb Mehsud said the authority had also submitted a complaint to the Federal Investigation Agency last year asking it to take action against such companies and block their activities.

He added that the websites and applications provided in the petition had been referred to the FIA through a letter by the PTA on June 16, 2023, with the request to investigate the content in relation to alleged gambling activities.

During the hearing, Chief Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim observed that in one of the photos, Pakistani cricket player Mohammad Rizwan had put a tape on a betting company name on his shirt while playing PSL.

He added that even superstar cricketers were not happy with those betting companies sponsoring them.

Published in Dawn, September 20th, 2024