Gaming is not gambling, trade bodies telling govt

Karnataka government passed a law banning online gambling. The gaming industry is concerned about the impact on their businesses. They want the government to define the terms 'games of chance' and 'game of skill'. The industry will challenge the law in court. The Supreme Court has ruled that games that are preponderantly based on skill are games of skills. A similar law was recently struck down in Tamil Nadu. Biren Ghose cautions that the ban could encourage illegitimate platforms to thrive. He is the chairman of CII National Committee for Animation, Visual Effects, Games and Comics.

Only Sikkim has clear-cut online gambling laws. Majority of India's online gaming market is connected with foreign entities operating outside India. The existing major legislation bans all forms of gambling, but only applies to online casinos. The Public Gambling Act of 1867, The Prize Competition Act, 1955 and The Information Technology Act 2000 are the main laws that regulate the gambling industry in India, and Sikksim is the only state that has implemented online casino regulations.

It's difficult to catch online gamblers, say cops. They exploit loopholes in the Internet and use VPN to hide their identities. Gambling sites earn by charging a user fee and collecting commissions.  The money lost by the player forms a big part of earning.