Is Online Gambling Legal in India? You would think that state and federal laws would address something as important and widespread as online gambling, but this is not the case in India. It is difficult to give a straightforward answer to the question of whether online gambling is legal in India. The year 2020 has witnessed a rapid increase in the number of players on online casinos. Amid the pandemic lockdown. Role Indian Tax Laws Plays in Gambling. Answer: Yes, online betting is legal in India. There are no federal laws against online betting in India. Each state may decide if they want to impose laws on online betting. And so far, only a few states in India have made laws against online betting. The State has, through the Sikkim Online Gaming (Regulation) Rules, 2009 prescribed that games such as roulette, black jack, pontoon, punto banco, bingo, casino brag, poker, poker dice, baccarat. Online Gaming is a multi-crore industry in India. Despite this fact, we have no dedicated Online Gaming and Online Gambling Laws in India. This has made the Legal Position regarding Online Games like Rummy, Poker, etc really confusing and murky. Due to diverse legal actions and situations, the matter has reached before the Supreme Court of India.

India is a large country, divided into States where each has different rules and laws about gambling. The many different forms of gambling include horse races, sports betting, poker and other card games, and even the lottery. Each state may have different definitions of what gambling is, as well as different laws regarding gambling. The central government of India does have their very own definition of gambling, as well as the laws that rule it.

The Public Gambling Act of 1867 prohibits operating or managing of a public gaming house. The punishment may not be as severe as others, but it is still a heavy burden; anyone caught will be fined 200 rupees or imprisoned for 3 months. There are two more laws that have been passed as recently as 2011.

The Information Technology Act of 2000 is in charge of dealing with online activities, by prohibiting the publication or transmission of information that can corrupt; which includes gambling. The other law is the Federal Information Technology Act of 2011 that tries to stop internet gambling. However, instead of putting pressure on the gamblers and punters, they make it the ISP’s responsibility to block offshore betting sites.

Uttar Pradesh

Gambling: Illegal except Horse Racing

Uttar Pradesh has a population of 199,581,477 as of 2011, making it the State with the highest population of the Indian country. This has caused it to become the target of many different types of gambling, which consist mainly of illegal gambling rings. However, there is a high incidence of gambling on satta style games such as rummy, poker, and others. There has been no progress on behalf of the Uttar Pradesh government to legalize gambling, or creating legal casinos since their failed attempt in 2005.

There are also many of the resident in this State that have a fondness of punting on horse races and sporting events, especially on cricket matches. Many believe that the problem with illegal gambling and the problems it causes could be fixed by legalizing certain forms of gambling, whether they are for brick and mortar satta institutions or online.

Maharashtra

Gambling: Illegal except for Horse Racing and Lotteries

Maharashtra is a beautiful State with 112,372,972 people as of 2011. The government of Maharashtra has made most forms of gambling illegal, with the exceptions of horse races and the State lotteries thanks to the Bombay Wager Act. This has caused many problems, especially in the large city of Mumbai, India with its 20 million people and its growing middle class. As it is a popular location for many sporting events such as the IPL, International cricket matches, and many others, it is a prime location for many to wager on these events. Many even argue with the fact that Matka, a specialized game thought to have been created in Maharashtra, is made illegal.

Online gambling is not illegal in Maharashtra, but it has been the spark of many controversies in the State. Legalizing and regulating the other forms of gambling could help improve the wealth of the State.

Bihar

Gambling: Illegal except Horse Racing

Bihar, India has a population of over 103 million people, and has had a rough history. The State government was run until recently by a communist party, where innovation and improvement was hard to accomplish. However, recently the new government being ran by the Janata Dal has been making improvements to the old system.

They still adhere quite strictly to the Public Gambling Act of 1867, making any and all forms of gambling illegal. Be cautious as they have a high rate of arrests made for gambling, although most of the arrests have been for operating or participating in local illegal gambling houses and not so much for online gambling, which is being done.

West Bengal

Gambling: Illegal except for Horse Racing and Poker

West Bengal, India has a population of just over 91 million and an array of great racecourses through the State. One of the most popular racecourses is the Kolkata Race Course. There is one big exception in West Bengal that makes it a great place for playing poker. The reason is that the definition for a game of skill according to the West Bengal Prize Competition and Gambling Act makes poker a popular choice. However, you cannot simply start playing poker, you must get permission from the Police Commissioner or the District Magistrate when and if you will be playing a game of skill in a public place.

Remain cautious though, as online gambling is still illegal in West Bengal, even if poker is well received. Always check with your local government to see whether online poker is legal or not.

Andhra Pradesh

Gambling: Illegal except for Tote and Pool betting, Lotteries, Horse Racing, Rummy

Andhra Pradesh is the 5th largest State in India with a population of over 84 million people. They have one of the more open minded governments when it comes to gambling, as they allow horse racing, lotteries, rummy, and Tote and Pool betting. They do not allow other forms of gambling however, such as win-only wagers that can be found at most bookmakers. This makes sports betting illegal, but sporting events like cricket matches are still widely bet on. There have been several arrests made by the police, but as the punishments are not that severe, it has little effect on the overall gambling industry.

Within most of the States in India, two forms of gambling are legal; horse races and lotteries. From State to State there may be exceptions with the different types of legal gambling, but most remain the same in terms of sports satta. Check out your own States gambling laws to see what you are able to gamble on.

Gambling in India varies by state as states in India are entitled to formulate their own laws for gambling activities. Some states like Goa have legalised casinos. Common gambling activities like organized betting is restricted except for selective categories including lotteries and horse racing.

In the 21st century, more people have started making cash bets upon prohibited betting and gambling activities in India. Critics of gambling claim that it leads to crime, corruption and money laundering. However, proponents of regulated gambling argue that it can be a huge source of revenue for the state. Casinos in Goa contributed Rs. 135 crores to the state revenue in 2013.^[1]

Casinos now operate in Goa, Daman and Sikkim.^[2]

Legality[edit]

Gambling is a state subject, and only states in India are entitled to formulate laws for gambling activities within their respective states. The Public Gambling Act of 1867 is a central law that prohibits running or being in charge of a public gambling house. The penalty for breaking this law is a fine of ₹200 or imprisonment of up to 3 months. Additionally, this Act prohibits visiting gambling houses. A fine of ₹100 or imprisonment of up to one month is the penalty.^[3]

Indian law classifies games into two broad categories viz. game of skill and game of chance. The Supreme Court of India has, for instance, held^[4]

The game of Rummy is not a game entirely of chance like the ‘three-card’ game mentioned in the Madras case to which we were referred. The ‘three card’ game which goes under different names such as ‘flush’, ‘brag’ etc. is a game of pure chance. Rummy, on the other hand, requires a certain amount of skill because the fall of the cards has to be memorised and the building up of Rummy requires considerable skill in holding and discarding cards. We cannot, therefore, say that the game of Rummy is a game of entire chance. It is mainly and preponderantly a game of skill.

The Information Technology Act 2000 regulates cyber activities in India does not mention the word Gambling or Betting thereby the act was left for interpretation by the Courts which have refused to examine the matter. Further, online gambling is a banned offense in the state of Maharashtra under the 'Bombay Wager Act'.

Only three states allow casinos, Goa , Daman and Sikkim.^[5] There are two casinos in Sikkim called Casino Sikkim and Casino Mahjong and 10 in Goa, of which six are land based and four are floating casinos that operate on the Mandovi River. The floating casinos in Goa are Casino Deltin Royale, Casino Deltin Jaqk, Casino Pride and Casino Pride 2. While the first two are controlled by the Deltin Group, the latter two are managed by the Pride Group. According to the Goa, Daman and Diu Public Gambling Act, 1976 casinos can be set up only at five star hotels or offshore vessels with the prior permission of the government. This has led the Deltin Group to open the first land based Casino in Daman which is open now. News reports also suggest that Visakhapatnam is also being looked on as the next casino destination.^[6]

The penalty for being caught gambling online has been a fine of ₹ 90,000 per day since 2009.^[7]

Online Gambling License India

Online[edit]

Online gambling is in its infancy in India, but Sikkim planned to offer three online gambling licences in 2010. This failed despite India being the most sought out country for online gambling.^[8] Sikkim also permits an online lottery, which takes bets from players throughout India. It was expected that other states would follow Sikkim, thereby opening up a major online gambling market throughout India.

Even though Indian casinos cannot promote or have sites that promote online gambling games such as casino, sports betting and bingo, it is not illegal for non-Indian casino companies (so called offshore companies) to have sites that focus on Indian players. The only requirement from a legal point of view is that the offshore casinos have to offer Indian Rupees as a payment method for Indian players. Although this is not accurate anymore since January 2020.

Unlicensed gambling is happening regardless, with as much as $60 billion worth of action and $48 billion being directed at Indian cricket alone.

Legalisation[edit]

Despite the existing prohibitive legislations, there is extensive illegal gambling throughout the country. The Indian gambling market is estimated to be worth US$60 billion per year, of which about half is illegally bet.^[9] According to the Indian National Newspaper, the Chief Executive officer for the International Cricket Council (ICC) said he was in favour of legalising betting in sports. He believes the illegal funds profited are through underground bookies that used the money to fund terrorism and drugs.^[10] Many Indian professionals as well as online forums have urged the government to introduce legal but regulated gambling in India to bring the gambling economy out of the grip of mafia and underground dons.^[11]

Payment gateways[edit]

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One of the biggest obstacles faced by sports bettors in India is the fact that depositing to foreign bookies is extremely difficult. Typically, the majority of users deposit to online bookies using Moneybookers or Neteller. Some attempts to deposit using a Visa or MasterCard may fail. The same is true of online bank transfers. In order to circumvent these blocks, savvy internet users have started to use e wallet services for depositing. These services, enable users to fund an online betting account in Rupees. This is important because it avoid legal issues that may have arisen out of F.E.M.A Foreign Exchange law.

Online Gambling Is Legal In India Or Not

See also[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^'Goa casinos contribute Rs 135cr revenue in 2012-13 - Times of India'.
2. ^Reddem, Appaji. 'NRI bets on Andhra Pradesh, moots casino on the Krishna'. The Hindu. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
3. ^'The Public Gambling Act, 1867'. www.indiankanoon.org.
4. ^Sayta, Jay (January 1, 2012). 'LEGALITY OF POKER AND OTHER GAMES OF SKILL: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF INDIA'S GAMING LAWS'(PDF). NUJS Law Review. Archived from the original(PDF) on November 2, 2013. Retrieved January 3, 2015.
5. ^Patil, Ajit (28 May 2009). 'Casinos in India'. India Bet. Archived from the original on 9 April 2011. Retrieved 28 October 2009.
6. ^'Casinos want to gamble on Visakhapatnam'. Deccan Chronicle. 3 November 2014. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
7. ^http://threezly.com/groups/indian-supreme-court-to-rule-on-legality-of-rummy-and-poker/members/
8. ^Sanjay, Roy (27 October 2009). 'Indian online gambling market set to open up'. India Bet. Retrieved 28 October 2009.
9. ^Thompson, James (27 October 2009). 'Betfair and William Hill target India'. The Independent. Retrieved 28 October 2009.
10. ^'Sports Betting Favoured by ICC'. CasinoOnline.net.in. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
11. ^Ashok, Donnie. 'Jay Sayta, Founder Glaws.in, on how he became an authority in Gambling Laws'. Superlawyer.in. Superlawyer. Retrieved 2014-12-21.