Gaming

Why real-money gaming’s best bet is a central law

Soumya Gupta

October 19, 2022 | 10 Min Read

Platforms for fantasy sports, poker and rummy are at odds with states determined to impose bans at the slightest suspicion of gambling. There have been some legal wins, but the industry faces prolonged uncertainty. Is a national law defining games of skill and chance the answer?

Total revenues from real-money gaming in India nudged the $1-billion mark in 2021, as per FICCI-EY’s estimates. This counts as a big stride for an industry that’s come into its own only in the past five years.

Even Google is paying attention and has started an experiment of listing a limited number of real-money apps on its Play Store, where the category was completely shut out earlier.

With such momentum, it’s easy to forget that betting allegations, state crackdowns and legal uncertainty have followed the fast-growing industry like a long shadow. Earlier this month, Tamil Nadu served a timely reminder that the difficulties are far from over.

The government there introduced an ordinance which, in essence, puts real-money games, especially rummy and poker, in the same damnable league as online gambling. This automatically results in a ban.

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