IMTF Established to Delve Into New Online Gaming Laws
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Online gambling is big business globally, but governments have struggled to legislate the sector. IMTF established to develop new laws to protect citizens from problem gambling.
The Inter-Ministerial Task Force (IMTF) was established to delve into new online gaming laws. The Public Gambling Act of 1867 was not fit to deal with digital-based activities and the associated technologies.
IMTF submitted a report to the Prime Minister’s office in September. The report highlighted the need for a new legislation to regulate online gambling in India. It also highlighted some disparities between state laws on gambling and no deposit casinos. It mentioned that an online gaming site shouldn't authorize nor promote transactions via unapproved payment methods.
There is a lack of uniformity in the way states governed online gambling. This created an uncertain regulatory environment for online gaming companies. Some states passed laws to ban online games of skills and chance alike. Other states planned to make their own laws. For instance, in Gujarat, poker was deemed illegal because it was a game of chance, but in Calcutta, the courts declared it a games.
IMTF established to develop new laws for online gaming. Home Ministry recommends looking into the option of regulating betting and gaming through national laws. NITI Aayog supports the move towards central legislation of the online gambling sector. The IMTF report supports their case for central law. State laws have no extraterritorial applicability when it comes to monitoring illegal offshore gambling sites.
