India, April 28 -- The ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) has directed VPN service providers and online intermediaries to ensure they do not facilitate access to illegal betting and prediction market platforms such as Polymarket, signalling a tighter enforcement push against offshore gaming services operating in India through workarounds.

In an advisory issued on April 25, the ministry asked intermediaries and VPN providers to comply with due diligence obligations under existing law, warning that failure to do so could result in the loss of safe harbour protections available under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act.

The government said the direction was issued in view of the "serious nature" of the issu...