Chhattisgarh Passes Law Banning Online and Offline Gambling

Chhattisgarh is the latest Indian state to pass a law banning offline and online betting and gambling "to ensure social and economic security of citizens", reports PTI via The Print. Passed by an oral vote in the state legislature yesterday, the "Chhattisgarh Gambling (Prohibition) Bill, 2022" outlaws betting or wagering for financial gains whether in person or online. Lotteries have been exempted, however. According to technology and gaming lawyer Jay Sayta, the law only outlaws games of chance, a legal term for gambling games. Games of skill, or games held by courts to not involve gambling, have been exempted from the bill, he claimed in a series of tweets yesterday. MediaNama has only been able to view an unverified copy of the law in Hindi, while the state government's e-gazette appears to be out of order as of publishing this article. Features of Bill: 1) Applies only to games of chance. Games of skill (poker, rummy, fantasy sports etc exempt, a key demand of industry. 2) Upto 3 years punishment along with 5 lakhs fine for running online gambling/betting, which may extend to 7 yrs & 10 lakhs for 2nd offence — Jay Sayta (@jnsayta) January 4, 2023 What makes this law different from other states? In a thinly veiled reference to south India's failed laws that tried to ban games largely held to be legal in India, Gateway to Gaming claims that "Chattisgarh [is] unique as the other States are primarily contemplating laws to target online poker and rummy while in Chhattisgarh it…