Legal Gambling Age In India

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If one is to critically look at the laws regulating gambling in India (specifically the Public Gambling Act of 1867) no reference is made to a casino online. That is quite understandable. The law predates the internet age of course.

Legal Gambling Age In India
  1. Therefore, it is very unclear whether online gambling is legal in India or not, though it is argued to be illegal with subject to the wordings of the Act. CLICK ABOVE The Information Technology Act of 2000 is the first piece of legislation that can be considered when talking about laws relating to online gambling or betting in India.
  2. The problem of knowing the gambling age is further exacerbated by the fact that different forms of gambling have different a legal gambling age in each state. The truth of the matter is that most lotteries require you to be 18, while any other form of gambling, excluding perhaps poker, is limited to those who are 21 years of age or older.
  3. However, gambling is a state subject in India and only states are entitled to formulate laws for gambling activities within their respective states. Currently, out of 29 states and 7 Union Territories, only 3 of them allow casinos as legal.
  4. Lotteries are legal in many countries, even where traditional betting and casino-style gambling is outlawed. The EGBA predicts a rise in lotteries' share of overall gaming online, from 2.3% in.

In a sovereign state, the law is supreme. Giving to the fact that laws are made by imperfect men and systems, the need to either repeal or amend them is an important assignment that law-making authorities are obliged to do.

When certain laws are repealed, it may be because of their gross imperfection and lack of credibility among the electorate. The amending that some of them have undergone could stem from a position of making the law work more effectively in a modern economy. Although, the debate that goes into the process of invalidating, repealing, or amending a law may be rigorous and may pitch certain ideological groups against each other. Nevertheless, the overall aim of this is to make society efficiently governed.

Worthy of elaborate discussion in this matter is the curious case of our gambling laws in India. For decades we have avoided the elephant in the room and have not yet straightened up the confusing and outdated laws that relate to gambling. The legal loopholes that have been created through these vague laws are thus being capitalized by online casinos active throughout India from within and abroad.

India’s Gambling Laws

India has a population of over a billion people. This immense size of this market put together with a centuries-long culture that comes with an enthusiasm to make wagers would automatically make gambling business opportunities incredibly lucrative ventures. Sure enough, there are several who do this successfully. India is already home to many casinos, sports tournaments, and poker players. Sports betting in particular is very popular. Be it cricket, football, or horse racing. However, sportsbook participation is currently very limited relative to its potential. This is attributed to punters being unsure whether they can, or even how they can make wagers in a legal fashion. Pundits have had a Herculean task of determining and explaining the legality or the illegality of new modern forms of gambling, especially with regards to online casinos and bookmakers.

This is very confusing to both clients and operators, with the latter having to throw caution to the wind more than ever because they do not know whether or not there will be repercussions.

That being said, the current stance that has been taken by the majority of operators is to follow the letter of the law. Nowhere in current law is there any restriction of internet access to gambling services. Furthermore, there is no text that prohibits overseas casinos from operating online in India. This is a common interpretation validated by Casinos-India.in and other gambling ombudsmen and casino comparison websites that focus on giving advice to players from India.

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Taking a step back from federal law and looking at the states, there are further layers of complication. Gambling laws have been legislated at both the federal level and state level. This is nebulous in away. If the gambling law enacted by the federal government gives permission to certain forms of gambling, and the state law disallows such, the law at the state may be enforced, irrespective of the permission the federal law has granted and vice versa. We can confidently say that the reconciliation of both federal and state laws on gambling is very difficult and as such made gambling frustrating for both operators and players.

What do Gambling Laws say in India?

The Public Gambling Act of 1867 (which, of course, has been amended to incorporate all other states from the initial ten states it applied to under the British control at that time), stipulates that it is illegal to operate a venue and visit a venue where gambling took place.

Just for the record, the act never gave an ample definition of what gambling actually entails. More specifically, observers have for a long time not been precisely clear on whether skill-based games like poker, blackjack and even cricket betting also constituted as gambling. Adding even more unnecessary confusion to the equation is that horse racing is universally legalized at the state level. It’s no surprise that racecourse bookmakers are known to also offer legal services alongside pool betting! This exemption to the law based purely on its popularity and its capacity to draw audiences is nevertheless highly inconsistent. And yet remains unresolved. However, these contradictory laws might not escape attention for much longer. A cursory look at this 2018 government report shows that there is an acknowledgment that India’s gambling regulations need to be less vague.

Overseas Online Casinos Are Capitalizing on the Legal Loophole to Operate

This being the age of the internet, many Indian residents have their wagering needs met at the tap of their phone screens visiting online casinos. The virtual realm being what it is, you may be sitting in your living room in Bhopal, you will find that the casino site is not hosted in India but in France so allowing you to play their casino games online. This ample technological reality is what has opened the doors to overseas businesses breaking into the Indian market without infringing a single letter of the law. It is such use of loopholes that erode any limitations any federal laws intended to have placed upon gambling.

If one is to critically look at the laws regulating gambling in India (specifically the Public Gambling Act of 1867) no reference is made to a casino online. That is quite understandable. The law predates the internet age of course. But because of the way the laws are written, one is in a quandary whether to illegalize or legalize online gambling in India just because of exemption or the prohibition of gambling through the Acts.

One could lay reference to the Information Technology Act of 2000 which highlights some activities as being offensive on online activity. Despite this act, online gambling is equally exempted from the act even though foreign websites can be blocked by the Indian government through this act.

However, things are slowly changing in India. The state of Sikkim has been in the process of regulating online casinos in India through the issuance of licenses to operators. With any luck, this is a trend that, if successful, will soon legalize gaming on the federal level through the entire sub-continent.

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[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.

Legal gambling age indian casinosLegal Gambling Age In India

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]

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.

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.
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