Mr. Karan R. Rampure, LL.M, Symbiosis Law School, Symbiosis International (Deemed) University, Pune & Prof. Shivani Rajesh, Assistant Professor, Symbiosis Law School, Symbiosis International (Deemed) University, Pune
ABSTRACT
When people are idle, they tend to involve themselves into various activities for the purpose of entertainment. One such activity which is very common among people all around the world is gaming. Gambling and betting are among the different modes of gaming, where one can enjoy monetary benefit or a prize over the wager amount, which a player puts at stake for the purpose of participation. Due to the absence of updated gaming laws, there is continuous clash between the government and the stakeholders of gaming. This is not the case in all jurisdictions, but definitely in India, as the government looks forward to adhere to the principles of morality and ethics as well as balancing the interest of the stakeholders. The gaming laws prevailing in India backs to pre-independence period, however after the independence the Constitution of India empowered the states to regulate gaming laws in their jurisdiction. While some states have incorporated the pre-independence legislation adopted by the British India, few have adopted their own laws taking into consideration the already existing legislation as the model law. Few of the states of India have considered legality and illegality of the games depending completely upon the model law, the state’s adopted legislation or the approach by the judiciary through the application of various tests. Because of the advancement in the technology, the application and scope of the rules and regulations have been nullified due to the ease in the access to online gaming from any part of the world, which has become a major challenge for the law-makers for the efficient execution of the said legislations. The research article seeks to address the key issues and challenges faced due to the lack of firm model law which shall help the states to update their legislations and bring in accordance with the countries that have adopted a fair legislation, the scope of which covers the technological advancement and also take into consideration the precedents that have led to the examination of the said games.
Keywords: Gaming, Gambling, Betting, Online Fantasy Sports (OFS).
