Like many other countries in the world, India has a long gambling tradition. Some of the games have been practiced for centuries, so it’s no wonder that gambling was already regulated in 1867.
Currently, this form of gambling is in the grey zone, but that could change soon, according to the latest reports.
It looks like the Indian government is finally about to regulate this field. Considering that we are talking about the world’s second most populated country, it’s not hard to realize that the potential for the gaming market is huge.
According to some estimations, the market is already worth over $1.5 Billion, and as we are talking about a developing country, we can only imagine how much room for growth is right there.
Is Online Gaming Legal in India Today
As we’ve just mentioned, the online gaming market in India is still in a grey zone but is still available on international casino sites like Foxbonus.com.
At this point, there is no legal act that regulates this field.
Gambling, in general, is regulated by the Public Gambling Act. Considering that this act dates way back to 1867, it’s easy to conclude that the whole field is completely regulated. According to this act, most forms of betting are prohibited, except for the lottery and games of skills.
On the other hand, the most recent Information Technology Act is from 2000 and says nothing about online gaming.
That’s why we say that online gaming is in the grey zone. While there is no act that regulates the field, there is also no act that prohibits this activity. In other words, there is nothing that stops Indian citizens from playing online casinos.
So far, we’ve been talking about legal issues on the national level. As you probably know, India is a huge country, so it’s divided into several states, and some of these states have already tried to regulate online betting.
So, you can find states like Daman, Goa, and Sikkim have legalized gambling.
Some other countries, however, tried to ban this activity. However, that was eventually dropped by the supreme court, which stated that all people have the right to practice any profession or carry on any occupation, trade, or business.
What’s the Next Move?
Logically, the Indian government formed a group that will form a kind of regulatory body, which will be under the IT ministry.
The goal is to regulate online gaming, and some of the first tasks have already been established.
Considering the diversity in regulation approaches we’ve just mentioned, the main task is to regulate everything on the national level.
The government plans to deal with outright gaming and create a system covering all important aspects, such as taxation, player protection, etc.
One of the goals is also to make a classification of games, whether they are skill games or games of chance. So far, we’ve seen that the states have treated the same games differently.
Allegedly, the regulatory body is already working on this classification, and the final report will be sent to the government for validation. However, there is still no timeline for the finalization.
What’s Happening with App Stores?
Among the games that have been treated differently are also fantasy games, which are hugely popular in India.
Some of the most popular titles are Dream11 and Mobile Premier League. Google temporarily removed them from the Google App Store until the government finalizes the classification process. From what we know so far, the apps won’t be available for at least a year.
Summary
Like in many other parts of the world, regulating the online gaming process will take some time, as so many different aspects of the online gaming industry need to be regulated by law.
We presume that the whole process will be complicated in India, as we are talking not just about a huge market but also about a country with so many states and so many cultural differences, which are the main reason for different approaches to online gaming in the states.
Therefore, Indian players should expect that the legal frame won’t be ready so soon. We presume that years could pass before we see the full implementation of the new regulations.
Meanwhile, Indian players will enjoy online gaming in the so-called grey zone, where they will be allowed to practice this activity without consequences.