Online Games of Skill Become Legal Again in India

#GambleLike_India  #BettingLegislation 

The Madras High Court has annulled the ban on online games of skill imposed by the Tamil Nadu government. This decision changes the state of things in the gambling industry in India and makes online betting legal again.

The Indian government has imposed a ban on all games of skill within the country that involve betting or wagering (lottery excluded) in February 2021 introducing a Bill.

That Bill said that nobody shall ''wager'' or ''bet'' in games like rummy, poker, or similar games played in cyberspace using ''computers'' or ''any communication device'' or any other instrument of gaming. Those who violate that Bill could have faced two-year imprisonment or a fine of up to Rs 10,000, or both.

Thus, that ban would have discouraged players from online gambling and influenced the gambling industry in India immensely. 

THE REACTION OF OPERATORS

Online operators could not remain silent in that situation. They brought a petition that stated that this Bill represented an “over-paternalistic stance taken by the state in bringing about sweeping amendments to an existing law.” Companies also claimed that the ban infringed on their rights and that it was unreasonable.

CURRENT SITUATION

At the beginning of August 2021, the ban was struck down by The Madras High Court.

Jay Sayta, a technology lawyer, commented on that decision: “The Madras High Court has struck down provisions of the Tamil Nadu Gaming and Police Laws (Amendment) Act, 2021 which prohibited and criminalised playing online games for bet, wager or other stakes. These provisions had obliterated the differentiation between games of skill and chance, which runs contrary to well-established jurisprudence laid down by the Supreme Court.”

The court stated that online gambling fell under the right to carry trade and commerce. The government was asked to introduce more balanced and less intrusive legislation that regulates online gaming in the country.

Therefore, online games of skill are once again legal in India. However, every state has a possibility to introduce its own gambling legislation and ban gambling on the state level. 

Meanwhile, the central government is working on a law that would introduce a more centralized framework of online betting and wagering in the country.

At the same time, Canadian players could see single-event betting legal in the near future.

The German government introduced new gambling regulations to make this kind of entertainment more responsible.

Source: “India court strikes down Tamil Nadu online gaming ban”, published August 4th.