Although gaming is tightly regulated in India and various laws are in place to block websites, offshore companies continue to benefit from Indian players. A New Delhi court confirmed on Monday that online games and sports betting involving money are deemed illegal in India.
The judgement came after a start-up company of former students of the Indian Institute of Technology petitioned to launch a social gaming website which included gambling. However before launching the website, wanted to ensure that betting on ?games of skill? would not be in violation of any national law.
In its petition, the company said that it was proposing a social-orientated game that included the games Chess, Billiards, Rummy, Poker, Bridge and Snooker. It sought the court?s opinion as the website planned to charge a limited 5 percent commission on winning hands.
New Delhi District Court Judge Ina Malhotra ruled that online betting and games of skill involving money are deemed illegal in India and do not offer protection under the constitution. In addition, banks could refuse to provide normal services to websites offering any form of wagering or betting.
?While betting or playing for money among players on a game of golf, chess, bridge or billiards may be permitted, they cannot be considered legal if operated by a gambling house,? stated Malhotra, ?The online gaming, even pertaining to the games of skill, offered by website involving money cannot be held to be legal and therefore banks can refuse to provide normal banking services to such websites.?
Online gaming companies are unhappy with the decision, especially a host of operators that currently offer skill-based games for cash. The industry has already indicated it will pursue further legal resource to overturn the ruling.
The court also reconfirmed that ?sports betting is an offence in India?. In May 2011, India passed the Federal Information Technology Act to prevent its citizens from registering at online sports betting sites by making ISPs responsible for unblocked offshore operations. This however, does not prevent customers from logging onto overseas website without protection of national law.
It is estimated that the illegal gambling industry in India could worth up to $60 billion, according to the Independent, and companies have long seen the nation as a potential online gambling goldmine.
The government of Sikkim, one of the country?s only two states with legal casinos, issued three online gaming licenses in 2010 with the hope of starting the ball rolling in the industry. But the central government still has the licenses and has so far expressed no interest on the matter.
Online Gaming in India:
colorado rockies moonshine news channel 4 radar weather weather channel lionel richie mike brown
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.