Online Gambling Laws and Punishment in India

Online gambling is betting at a casino or on a sports event; just like actual gambling in a physical space, the only difference is that it is done on an online platform. It uses credit cards instead of cash for online gambling to place bets and wins or losses are processed that way. There are several platforms with features of Dafabet betting app that will provide users with many forms of casino entertainment: poker, horse betting, slots, blackjack, roulette, and sports betting. Even if gambling per se does not change, one of the cons of online gambling is that there is no physical experience of it, which could be a disadvantage to those who enjoy the glamour of casinos or the adrenaline of cheering on sports teams in stadiums.

Online Betting, Is It Legal?

The legality of online gambling is considerably varied across the country. There were separate laws and regulations on gambling running into various states for a very long time; then, came the Central Public Gambling Act  (hereinafter referred to as The Act). It subsequently pronounced all forms of gambling illegal in India, while also giving a definition between games of chance and games of skill. Thus, betting could be instituted on games of skill, while the ambiguity still hovered above what constituted a game of skill. Cricket, for one, is not a game of skill. But lotteries and horse-race betting still manage to remain legal. The above shows how the lines between game of skill and game of chance got blurred, without proper guidelines.

However, the Act does not include online gambling in its definition. Some states have accepted the Act in their gambling legislation, while a majority of the states still have their own regulations; Sikkim and Nagaland were the first states to pass laws permitting online gambling under their respective legislation. Besides, poker is allowed to be played both online and offline in West Bengal, Maharashtra, and Sikkim after receiving a license authorization from the state authority, along with Goa, which has also allowed casinos to carry out gambling.

As for the legality of online betting in India, for the time being: yes. There is no appears to be an explicit law talking against online gambling, and although the Act seems to have effectively banned all kinds of gambling under the sun, scanty material is available on the point that speaks out on the definition and demarcation of a game of skill and chance to make online gambling illegal.

Laws Regarding Online Gambling In India

The existing laws in the country regarding online gambling are already vague and not uniform. Only one judgment, M/s Gaussian networks Pvt. Ltd. v. Monica Lakhanpal and State of NCT, has referred to online gambling and stated as under:

• If a game that involves game of skills is played with stakes, then it does not constitute as gambling
• If the players are attracted to the game just due to prize money, it is considered illegal
• In virtual platforms, any game of skill played for the purpose of gaining money would not be legal, even though it would be legal in physical world.
• Gaming sites cannot join the winning hands as it would promote online gambling

The case was then withdrawn at the final argument of the revision petition, and so, there's no precedent that was set, nor can it be referred to anymore. Yet, it should be noted that Telangana was one of the first states to ban online gambling with such legislation in 2017, closely followed by a ban in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and quite recently Karnataka. It later came to notice that to put in effect that ban, the Union government had to block all gambling sites and portals, which caused much furore among the community that regularly operates in virtual gambling, and all these bans have been contested by rummy and poker portals, and the Madras High Court had to recently scrap those changes brought with these amendments.

Punishment for Illegal Online Gambling in India

An online gambling racket in Delhi was raided, and 12 customers of the said racket, who were arrested by police officials, were charged with violating the gambling laws of the New Delhi state. On that very note, the increasing levels of technological development and this internet access have made operating online gambling very easy. With this, in most of the laws, the online gambling is not mentioned, and there are no elaborate provisions punishing such conducts, specific to it; just general provision apply from the laws mentioned above.

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