Why shouldn't India seize the chance to dominate the gaming industry?

 

There has to be national regulation of online gaming. Senior Counsel Testifies in Court

Senior Supreme Court attorney Gopal Jain makes the case in a new paper that "India's gaming industry urgently needs a unified, light-touch regulatory structure designed by the national government in order to realise its true potential and thrive."

Everything that exists entirely online, in the author's opinion, is by definition an interstate affair and is governed by the federal government. Additionally, gaming websites are considered intermediaries under the Information Technology Act of 2000 and as such are under the control of the Union Government.

The Public keybet9 Gambling Act of 1867, which was intended to outlaw betting and gambling in public gaming establishments, as well as other out-of-date state-level regulations on the subject, are useless in the age of digital technology. The result is a patchwork regulatory framework that forces the Indian gambling industry to operate in an uncertain climate.

The Supreme Court's conclusion that fantasy sports are games of skill and are therefore protected by the Constitution is cited by senior attorney Jain along with a number of recent rulings from state and federal courts.

Numerous court rulings pointing in the same direction were insufficient when full gaming prohibitions, including those for skill games, were passed in the states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. More lawsuits were filed in response to the outright prohibitions, and eventually the proper high courts decided that they were unlawful and excessive.

Regulation of Online Skill Gaming Goes Beyond In order to fully realise the potential of the local gaming industry to create jobs and generate tax revenue while also maintaining a secure gaming environment for the general public, India urgently needs to put in place a comprehensive national regulatory framework. It is a framework that must include all forms of online skill gaming as well as chance-based games, casino gambling, and online cricket betting.

India should learn from the national regulation and licencing regimes that developed economies around the world are increasingly adopting rather than placing barriers in the way of businesses and making them navigate a maze of regional laws and prohibitions, leaving Indian gamers at the uncertain mercy of the black market.

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On January 1, 2019, Sweden, for instance, ended its state monopoly policy in favour of a regulatory framework that includes a national gaming authority and a licensure system. The decision was heavily impacted by the appearance of foreign bookies and gamblers preying on Swedish internet users. The nation wanted to exert more control over the industry, raise tax revenue, and take other aggressive measures to actively safeguard the public and reduce the social cost of gambling.

Sweden developed a national self-exclusion programme and a set of responsible gaming guidelines for operators, following the trend seen around the world that places a higher priority on player protection. All players could immediately ban themselves from all gaming platforms in the nation with the help of the programme, as well as from getting promotional materials.

Other attempts included the addition of a button for responsible gaming to all gaming website pages, credit card restrictions, fast-play choices for slots, loyalty programmes, restrictions on bonus offers, and the capability for players to set a personal spending limit, among others.

Sweden also outlawed payments to unlawful gaming platforms and outlawed match-fixing and cheating.

Several US states, Australia, Denmark, Italy, the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, France, the Netherlands, and the United States are among the nations that have developed a licencing system centred on client safety.

Senior attorney Jain draws attention to industry predictions that by 2023, there would be more than 40 crore gamers in India, and that the local Keybet9 gaming sector will be worth more than $2 billion. The three domestic gaming unicorns that have emerged in the nation as of late are Dream11, MPL, and Games24x7.

India is well positioned to become a global leader in the gaming industry, despite its overall income being substantially lower than that of industry titans Microsoft, Sony, Tencent, and Nintendo ($90 billion).

When he said that Indian gaming businesses might export games based on Indian culture to the international digital market, Prime Minister Modi made a suggestion on this possibility. The nation's gaming industry requires a centrally located, contemporary, comprehensive regulatory framework that goes beyond the element of skill in order to realise its full potential and offer a safe gaming environment for the general public.