The Nepal Telecom Authority has announced that it has blocked over 2 lakh 23 thousand websites and apps used for online betting and illegal financial activities.
The Nepal Telecom Authority (NTA) has confirmed that it has blocked 2 lakh 23 thousand 568 websites and applications which were being used for online betting and other illegal financial transactions.
This action comes after a government directive issue on Chait 13, which included a list of 100 governance reform initiatives. Point number 42 in that list tasked the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology with shutting down betting apps and related websites within 24 hours. Following this decision, the campaign to block betting websites operating in Nepal has been actively carried out.
According to the NTA, while many existing websites has been block, new ones continue to appear under different names. Specifically, since the start of the FIFA World Cup this year, a total of 2 lakh 23 thousand 568 such websites and apps have been shut down.
The Prime Minister’s Office and the Council of Ministers also showed special concern about this issue, anticipating a rise in online betting during the World Cup. After this, the NTA stepped up its enforcement and stated that it had formed a dedicated task force to tackle the problem.
Om Prakash Mahato, an Assistant Director and Engineer working with the task force, explained that after the World Cup began, representatives from Internet Service Providers (ISPs) were brought to the NTA office to expedite the process of blocking betting websites.
He added that such website URLs are blocked in collaboration with ISPs. Since identifying every single website is difficult, authorized bodies identify betting sites and those involved in illegal financial transactions, which are then blocked through ISPs.
Mahato also noted the ongoing challenge where new websites keep emerging even after others are blocked. Therefore, continuous efforts are made to block new sites as soon as they are identified. For this, a ‘threat intelligence tool’ is being used for monitoring and identification, and separate manpower has also been deployed.
The NTA urged the public to provide information about any such illegal websites by updating the details on github.com/NTA-OPM.
AI Disclaimer: This article was originally published on https://bajarkochirfar.com. It has been translated with the help of AI. For the best understanding and accurate facts, we recommend reading the original Nepali version.
