India Can Launch a Regulated Gambling Market?

For now, India, the country with millions of people interested in gambling, does not have a regulated market with licensed operators and secure play for those who decide to try casino entertainment. Players choose casinos whose activity is not regulated in the country and take some risks in the process. However, everything could change soon as a new bill aimed at the launch of a regulated gambling market in India was introduced to parliament in April 2022. 

The bill called The Online Gaming (Regulation) Bill was introduced on April 1st to the parliament of India. Pursuing the dual goal of making gambling legal in the country and preventing illegal casinos from operating in India, the bill has already faced some resistance. 

WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN WITH GAMBLING IN INDIA IN THE FUTURE?

According to the bill, the Online Gaming Commission should be created. It would be responsible for overseeing online casinos that operate in the country and punishing illegal websites that accept players from India. Furthermore, it would have the authority to issue gambling licenses to casinos that are ready to meet rules and restrictions on this market and cancel permits for those gambling destinations that break those rules. 

At the moment there is no such regulation in the state. The only case is the Supreme Court’s verdict concerning skill-based games. This precedent allows each Indian state to decide whether to ban this type of entertainment or not.

The state of things in the Indian gambling industry is still obscure, and it is not yet known whether the gambling market will be created, as The Online Gaming (Regulation) Bill has already faced criticism (e.g. the lawyers from Khaitan & Co points out that this bill does not distinguish between real-money gambling destinations and casual gaming). Moreover, the bill does not take into consideration that gambling in India should be regulated state by state. It also is weak in terms of customer and data protection.

Nonetheless, there already seem to be some changes implemented in the gambling sphere in this country, as the state of Telangana has announced the possibility of lifting the ban on all forms of gambling shortly. It is related to the increased interest in gambling among players and their choice of illegal online casinos to play games.

At the same time, Canada continues to develop gambling in the country. Ontario is a newly opened regulated market, and its gambling commission has already granted its first licenses.