The online gaming industry has witnessed a recent increase in India and there have been a spurt of a variety of online gaming platforms in India. Ahlawat & Associates are one of the few law firms in India which have a robust legal team which provides assistance to clients in navigating the legal and regulatory landscape for setting up a business in this sector in light of various central and state legislations.

As a background on this subject, the Constitution provides for ‘Betting and Gambling’ as a matter listed under Entry 34 under List II of Schedule VII (which lists out the subjects on which the individual States have the law-making authority). In simpler words, the State legislatures have been endowed with the power to legislate on matters relating to gaming. From a practical point of view, this can get very overwhelming and exhaustive for clients to go through each state legislation and licensing requirements (if applicable). Our Team at Ahlawat and Associates is well versed with the state-specific legislations and the relevant licensing requirements. 

At Ahlawat & Associates, we possess thorough knowledge on the prevailing laws in India pertaining to online gaming and online sports and can assist in overcoming all regulatory issues that may arise with the gaming laws of different states. 

While setting up a business in India in this industry, it should be kept in mind that online gaming platforms are classified into two heads viz. ‘games of skill’ and ‘games of chance’. ‘Games of Skill’ are those where the outcome is determined primarily by mental or physical skill, rather than chance. In simpler terms, a game of skill is when a player needs to invest their time in learning, practicing and mastering their skill in order to win. The success of any player in such games is dependent on the players awareness of the rules and practices of the same, and on how efficient the player is at such a game. 

In contrast, a ‘game of chance’ is where the aspect of luck or chance dominates skill or affects the outcome of the game. A game of chance may be determined entirely or on part by mere luck (not through any particular skill of the player) such as in a throw of dice. Incidentally, in a game of chance there is no way of predicting a clear outcome.

Section 12 of the Public Gambling Act 1867 titled ‘Acts not to apply to certain games’ states ‘nothing in the foregoing provisions of this Act contained shall be held to apply to any game of mere skill wherever played’. This provision provides for an exclusion of games of skill from being prohibited and penalized. However, some states have their own gaming and gambling legislations which have some regulatory requirements for establishing an online gaming business.

Our Team at Ahlawat and Associates is highly equipped to assist clients in navigating the complex state legislations pertaining to the online gaming industry.

There are various types of online gaming platforms including: (a) online fantasy sports platforms; (b) online gaming platforms; (c) online game streaming platforms; etc.