IPL or Indian Premier League was banned from taking part in crypto-related deals and associating themselves with cryptocurrency-based firms or exchanges. This order came from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) which is the authority governing the sport.
As per a report by ET, the teams are upset with the decision taken by the BCCI, missing out on lucrative opportunities. The franchises received a lot of interest from cryptocurrency exchanges in the country for partnerships ahead of the coming T20 season.
Some of the IPL teams had started negotiations and were asked to keep the proceedings on hold until the government’s regulation of cryptocurrencies is clear after the winter session of the Parliament in which the crypto bill is set to be introduced.
IPL believes the decision a “major loss”
While the BCCI has completely banned IPL teams from signing deals with crypto exchanges, the International Cricket Council has no problem with the same, and this has irked many of the franchises.
“It’s a major opportunity loss. The kind of money they were offering for the main sponsorship was 1.5 times of what the current sponsor is paying. They wanted to build their brand with our association and were ready to pay for that.”
said an executive
Investors and firms are currently confused regarding the cryptocurrency bill, which will set foot on the floors of the Parliament this winter session. Sources said that the bill speaks on putting a ban on “private cryptocurrencies.”
India has the highest number of cryptocurrency investors (more than 100 million) and a huge number of cricket fans. Taking advantage of this, the top two cryptocurrency exchanges in the country were set to sign a 50 crore INR deal with the ICC for advertisement slots.
This is not the first time cryptocurrency exchanges have been targeted with scrutiny in the nation. A PIL was filed in the Delhi high court to ban the advertisement from exchanges that were accused of misleading the audience. While the advertisements were not banned, the Court made it compulsory for exchanges to add disclaimers in their adverts.