Introduction
The technological development of the country had witnessed a new type of gambling classified as “Online Gambling”. It generally refers, the use of the internet for placing a bet and earning money over the internet[i]. The users of the internet were growing at an average of more than 7,00,000 new users each day[ii]. A report by Grand View Research had valued the gambling market sized at USD 53.7 billion in 2019 and it is expected at a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 11.5% from 2020 to 2027[iii]. The increasing demand for internet and mobile phones among individuals for playing online games from their homes or public places was controlling the market. Few factors such as online gambling, corporate sponsorship, and celebrity endorsement were controlling the market growth.
The history of the betting can be traced out in the chapters of the Epic Mahabharata where Kauravas illegally cheat with the Pandavas which they lose their kingdom and their wife, Draupadi’s dignity which kept the foundation of the greatest war Mahabharata.
The British rulers also used the dice to decide the partition of the domain. The same concept was used by Olaf the ruler of Sweden who used this concept to rule the domain of Sweden.
The government had taken the initiative of ban gambling in India when the roots of it were spreading deep in the country but, its loophole had originated the concept of Online Gambling. The concept of online gambling had initiated in the year 1994 when the commercialization process of the internet had over. The Caribbean Nation of Barbuda and Antigua granted licenses to companies after the enactment of the Free Trade and Processing Act to engage online gambling services[iv].
Online Gambling and its’ Meaning
As the words say use the internet for betting and earning money. It includes playing poker games, casino games, and sports games. The players of these games place their bet through UPI (Unified Payment Interface), debit or credit cards, or internet banking.
Among Indian players card games like Rummy, or Teen Patti are very popular. These games provide the virtual environment of the real-world casino where players bet as bet in the real world. Few games that were also famous among Indian players were Blackjack, Roulette, Barract, Indian Flush, and Andar Bahar.
Google Playstore’s initiative in this regard
Google had changed its policies and excluded India from the list of the countries where gambling applications or games were allowed. The countries where Google hasn’t banned gambling games or applications were Australia, United States, Japan, Germany, Mexico, Canada, Belgium, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Spain, Romania, Finland, Denmark, and Colombia.
Google had taken this initiative because several state governments had issued directives for such a ban of these applications or games. A few years back Google had blocked the services of Paytm and Paytm First Games because they had violated Google’s terms of services.
The legality of Online Gambling in India
The laws related to gambling in India are very confusing and tricky. The law says that there is a distinction between ‘games of skills’ and ‘games of chance’. Betting on the chance of games is prohibited in Indian but betting on the skills of the games is legal in India. The classification of the games based on chance and skills had proven tricky for the country.
The Supreme Court had also ruled his judgment in this context. It stated that rummy cannot be classified as a game of chance. The rummy requires players of a certain level of skills cannot be termed as gambling.
On August 3rd, 2021 the Madras High Court had laid down his judgment in this context and declares Rummy, Teen Pati, or Poker impugned to section 11 of Tamil Naidu Gaming and Police Laws (Amendment) Act, 2021 and imposes ban in the Madras territory. It also highlighted that the banned games did not belong to mere skills because such games were played for the wager, bet, or other stakes.
The Madras High Court had also explained the word game of skills under the judgment of Dr. K.R. Lakshmanan v. the State of Madras[v] in the context of placing a bet on horse racing. It was held that the skills of the games would be necessary for the element of chance and success wholly depends on the principle of superior knowledge, training, experience, and adroitness.
Recently, the Supreme Court of India had dismissed the Special Leave Petition (SLP) and declared that the online fantasy sports offered by Dream 11 amounted to gambling, wager, and betting is not a game of skills. The apex court had reaffirmed the judgments passed by Punjab & Haryana High Court and Bombay High Court and upheld the judgment of Rajasthan High Court; the online fantasy sports legality was sustained.
Issues Associated with the Online Gambling
The application, sites, or games of online gambling were not well regulated as land-based venues. Many cases were reported by each state government of online gambling where these sites have not paid the winning amount or they have cheated players with unfair games or absconded with player deposits.
Online gambling sites or applications should bar a certain group of people. The peoples who should be restricted from these sites or applications were employees of these sites and underage gamblers. It has been observed that the teenagers have a good knowledge of internet and they were found easily accessing these sites or applications[vi].
Conclusion
The laws related to internet gambling were in flux. It is a lucrative business where risks are uncertain and laws are unclear. The chances of getting out in trouble are small, penalties were enormous and acts were enacted for organized crimes and came into play. There are several ways where individuals and businesses can increase and decrease their exposure to possible criminal and civil action[vii]. Each State Governments were initiated its remedies to curb out gambling from their territory. The judiciary is also working in this context and they are trying to resolve the issue of the difference between the game of skills and the game of chance.
It is not a new concept but, it is another method of gambling. Its dynamic nature proves difficult to comprehend online gambling at a global level. It is lacking in the field of regulation, policies between jurisdictions including neighboring jurisdictions, and even provinces or states within the single country. The development of the internet and technology had introduced a new way of gambling. The judiciary had to cover the milestones of a gap between the development of society and the existing laws[viii].
[i] Meheb Qureshi, Online Gambling Apps in India: How does it Work? Is it Legal? (May 12th, 2021) (the quint) Available at: https://www.thequint.com/tech-and-auto/online-gambling-apps-in-india-is-it-legal-to-play-details-here
[ii] Global Report, Digital Around the World (DATAREPORTAL) Available at: https://datareportal.com/global-digital-overview
[iii](GRAND VIEW RESEARCH 2020)
[iv] Ibid, x
[v] AIR 1996; 1153 SCC (2) 226
[vi] Robert J. Williams and Robert T. Wood, Internet Gambling: A Comprehensive Review and the Synthesis of the Literature. (July 20th, 2007) Available at: https://www.greo.ca/Modules/EvidenceCentre/files/Williams%20et%20al(2007)Internet_gambling_A_comprehensive_review_and_synthesis_of_the_literature.pdf
[vii] I. Nelson Rose, Gambling and the Laws: A introduction to the Law of Internet Gambling. Available at: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1146&context=grrj
[viii] Sonu Kumar ICFAI LAW School, Dehradun, Online Gambling (October 4th, 2020) (Indian Legal Solution) Available at: https://indianlegalsolution.com/online-gambling/
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