With the notification of Gaming Rules, the online gaming industry has come under the ambit of Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY). The Gaming Rules are in response to a long-standing industry demand to have a centralised framework for regulating online skill based real money games in India.
Several petitions in different courts in India on such gaming related issues, add to the chaos.
This leads to business uncertainty especially since states have divergent views on what’s allowed and what’s not, within their states. Consequently, there is inconsistency in how different states view online skill based real money gaming, with some even banning them, despite jurisprudence that such games should not be considered as unlawful per se. This is a key step to regulate online gaming at a federal level in India.Ĭurrently, gaming is regulated by states, with different states enacting their own state specific laws, most of which are dated and not designed for online models of business. India notified amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (“ Gaming Rules”), on April 6, 2023.
