Indian players have long seen online gambling as a legal grey area. However, it looks like things are about to change, even if in the long run it means things will remain the same. In an announcement, it was revealed that the government will be making online gambling illegal in the near future, but it won’t be taking any steps to block the use of sites that offer online gambling services.
Instead, the government will be making changes to the law to make it an offence to use these sites. What has been announced is that people who organize the use of online gambling sites can face up to two years in jail. People who use the sites can face up to six months in jail. It’s a harsh crime for something that’s been generally allowed for a very long time within India.
Not actually banned
Because access to the sites won’t be blocked it means that Indian casino players won’t actually be banned from using the sites. It just means that if they are caught then they could be charged and prosecuted. This is a technicality that could confuse a lot of people. The government has even clarified that it hasn’t banned online gambling, because the sites will still be accessible. It’s just said that using these sites will now be an offence that can result in jail time.
Instead, the government will be asking its citizens to not use the sites. It’s expected that the new laws won’t be vigorously enforced and that the government will trust the vast majority of the populace to adhere to the new laws. It’s believed that people won’t be widely prosecuted, but that there could be some prosecutions just to act as a deterrent to other players.
Unlikely to be enforced
Many players believe that the laws are unlikely to be strongly enforced. Because there are so many players who use online gambling sites, the thought of banning them and sending users to jail is one that doesn’t make sense. In fact, a lot of people currently believe that this new legislation is actually a precursor to setting out efficient regulation that will make online gambling legal, if heavily restricted.
Not only this, but law firms across India have spoken out saying that they believe the law will be impossible to enforce. It’s believed that this new announcement is just a political move in order to try and scare people into stopping using the sites. Whether it will work in the long term still remains to be seen.
The use of VPN software means that a lot of players will be able to use the sites without giving away where they are actually located. This will allow online casinos to claim that they didn’t know the customers were based in India. In turn this will make it easy for them to claim ignorance and therefore avoid any potential prison sentence. It will make the new law almost impossible for the government to enforce. Some casinos do claim that they are an indian online casino, but they are based outside of India.
Games of skill exempt
Previously both Poker and Rummy were classed as games of skill and as such were exempt from gambling regulations. However, because these games are offered at online casinos it could lead to players being unable to play them, even though they are technically legal. It has caused some distress amongst some players as they believe they will be unable to play legal games due to the new legislation.
The qualification as a game of skill is something that a lot of games aim for. This is to help them to bypass through gambling laws by using loopholes. When this takes place it means that players are able to enjoy a range of games without having to worry about breaking the law.
One form of gambling that has been cleared is fantasy sports. The government has confirmed that all fantasy sports will be exempt from the new legislation. It means that players who indulge in fantasy sports teams will be able to carry on doing so without having to worry. The reasoning behind this from the government is that fantasy sports don’t class as out and out betting.
They believe that it’s a long term game that players can enjoy. While there are some fees involved to enter into the game, this is an entry fee rather than a stake. This makes the game accessible to all Indian casino players and manages to pass through the loophole without being a game of skill.
Players worried?
As previously mentioned many players are worried about the new changes to the laws. However, it’s not something that should worry too many players at this moment in time. The new changes are not likely to be put into practice right away and even when they are there are far too many variables to make them possible to enforce.
It does mean that online casinos will have to put further measures in place in order to protect themselves. By the same token it could mean that players have to also carry out further measures. Despite all of this it’s likely that things will continue the same as they are now. Unless the government decides to put harsher restrictions in place then it’s not very likely that this new announcement will have a big impact on Indian players.
