Introduction
In India, playing games is not illegal, the government of India describes “that gaming is the offer offered on the internet which is accessible by the internet users through smartphone or computer as the resource or an intermediary”. It is astonishing to see the paradigm shift in the use of the internet from the urban industrial area to the remote village area. The government of India in its analysis stated that the gaming industries are likely to become An INR 25.3 billion industry worth in the upcoming years. Knowing the growth of the Indian gaming industry, many foreign companies are planning to set up and start their operations in India since India is the better place to get the maximum profit.
Legal Recognition of Gaming
The legal recognition of the gaming industry in India is not illegal but the Indian legislature divided the concept of gaming into two wide concepts such as game of skill and game of chance. the game that requires human intellect and skill because the winner is determined then such kind of game of skill is legal in India. On the other hand, games which don’t require any human skill or nothing are involved . Such kinds of games fall under the concept of game of chance which is illegal in India. Through these kinds of games which are poorly based on the luck factor and no human control over the actions which leads to the mental trauma, addiction, financial risk etc.
Regulatory Body of India:
In the context of regulating the gaming industry each state government has proposed different laws with regards to the subject matter gaming. The few examples of legislation affecting gaming industry at state level are;
- Bombay prevention of gambling act 1887
- Punjab public gambling ACT,1867
- Madhya Pradesh public gambling act.1867
- Tamil Nadu gaming act,1930
- Tamil Nadu city police gaming rules,1949
- The west Bengal gaming and prize competitions act,1957 etc…,
IN the assam game and betting act,1970 failed in distinguishing difference between game of skill and game of chance.
In Sikkim online gaming act, 2008 the main object of the act is to levy tax on the gaming industry to control them from exploiting the users, an amendment in 2018 which introduced the new mandatory provisions for playing online games. It requires an identity photo to get into the zones of Sikkim.
In Nagaland, similar legislation was passed where it promoted only skill-based games in the industry and now Nagaland has the licensing authority to regulate the existence of illegal gaming industry.
Recent Development
The ministry of electronics and IT, after going through all the loopholes of the state legislature laws on online gaming. In April 2023 the ministry of electronics and it announced the new regulations to protect online gaming and peoples from addiction and harming content from the online.
The proposed rules of the ministry of electronic and IT, the information technology intermediary guidelines and digital media ethics code rules,2021 (IT rules) which amended to include these regulations to regulate online gaming. The major focus of the rules on real money games. These regulations are under the control of central authority to govern the gaming industries but it does not replace the state laws. The state laws are still in existence and the actions may continue to be taken under state law notwithstanding the amendments.
Conclusion
The risk of online gaming in recent years is high comparatively in the ancient times because now the exposure to smartphones and laptops are rapid. The online gaming industry has built a huge hazard in society. Betting and gaming in the state list which empowers the state to make laws with respect to betting and gaming as dealt above there so many loopholes in the state laws. The interpretations on the same subject differ from one state to another which leads to confusion. Now, the central government should shift the betting and gaming from state list to union list and to make an umbrella legislation to regulate the betting and gaming industry. The gaming applications should have the inbuilt limitation on time which helps the players not to get addicted to the game. Also some guidelines should be imposed for the children playing these games. There should be an authority to look into the financial aspects which are involved in the gaming industry.
For expert legal guidance on online gaming laws and compliance, consult Prime Legal, a leading law firm in Bangalore specializing in gaming regulations and legal solutions.
