The Karnataka government has tabled a bill in the legislative assembly to boycott online gambling of all structures. The Karnataka Police (Amendment) Bill, 2021, tabled Friday, tries to deny all betting, wagering, gambling of all nature and structures — except lottery and horse race — in the state.

With this bill, Karnataka hopes to join the positions of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Kerala, which have all attempted to control online gambling through legislation. The Karnataka government’s bill also looks to boycott all types of online games that include profits, wagering, betting, or trade of money in any structure.

“We will likely boycott all games that include profiting, betting, and stakes. We have taken examples from the Madras High Court’s choice to strike down similar legislation in Tamil Nadu and have changed our bill likewise,” Home Minister Araga Jnanendra disclosed to ThePrint Saturday. “The state has information on the number of individuals who have been influenced by online gambling and betting during the pandemic and this bill desires to stop it.”

With changes to nine sections and different subsections to the Karnataka Police Act, 1963, the new bill tries to deny online games that include wagering and betting on mobile applications, mobile phones, PCs, and any remaining stages.

While the bill doesn’t name any games or gaming organizations that will be influenced, it is probably going to influence well-known online games from stages, for example, Mobile Premier League, Rummycircle, and Junglee Games among others that include betting and wagering or stakes.

If the bill is passed by the two Houses of Karnataka’s lawmaking body all online games including Chess, Poker, Rummy, Bridge or any arcade games that include money in some structure will be restricted.
The bill hopes to make all parts of gambling — except for lottery and horse race — non-bailable and cognizable offense.

“To improve the discipline for gaming for the precise conduct of citizens and to wean them away from the vice of gambling,” is recorded as one reason to present this bill.

The Karnataka cabinet had in September endorsed the proposed amendments to The Karnataka Police Act. The expectation, the cabinet said, was to prevent individuals from turning to outrageous strides after losing money on online gaming.

The bill comes in the backdrop of the Madras High Court striking down a similar act passed by the Tamil Nadu assembly. Online gaming giant, Junglee Games, had challenged the Tamil Nadu government’s bill in court.

Contentious bill has left industry leaders concerned
As per the gaming industry estimates, Karnataka has 91 gaming organizations enrolled in Bengaluru that employ around 5,000 individuals. Investments of about Rs 3000 crore in the course of the most recent three years are in question, industry insiders have told ThePrint.

The greatest worry for the gaming business is the bill’s angle that eliminates the differentiation between a ‘games of chance’, for example, fantasy sports group matches, and a ‘game of skill’ like Chess.

While industry pioneers agree that there is a need to regularize online gaming, there is worry about whether the state is recognizing the various classifications of online games and their income models as opposed to wagering and betting.

“There is a need to get greater clarity on the bill. Karnataka is one of the significant center points for Indian startups and numerous in the online gaming space that incorporates online fantasy sports, online skill-based casual games and sports might include little money yet obviously don’t commensurate to betting and gambling,” Rameesh Kailasam, Chief Executive Officer, IndiaTech.Org, told ThePrint.

He added that the government’s goal is to boycott online betting and gambling that include possibility and expectations that vital change and clarity is brought to the bill to exclude all online games that are skill predominant and those that don’t understand betting or gambling.

Home Minister Araga Jnanendra, yet, revealed to The Print that the bill would just stretch out to all types of games that include wagering when inquired as to whether membership fees will likewise be considered as “for-profit”. “More clarity will be given when we outline rules for the bill whenever it is passed,” Jnanendra said.

“The move by the Karnataka government in tabling the Karnataka Police (Amendment) Compliance Act, 2021, can be viewed as a difficulty to the state’s reputation of being a tech-center and start-up capital. Skill-based gaming couldn’t measure up to gambling, and restricting isn’t an answer,” Roland Landers, CEO, All India Gaming Federation, said in a statement shared to ThePrint. Landers additionally added that the online gaming market in India is relied upon to create incomes in the abundance of $ 3 billion by 2025.

For the business insiders, the worry is likewise whether the legislation will affect investment in eSports at the forthcoming Asian games 2022. “Considering the Asian Games 2022 where eSports are being held, I trust the government gets legislation that energizes interest. Particularly since Bengaluru is an investment center point for sports tech in India. I trust the bill can separate between games of skill and game of chance,” Shivani Jha, head of the eSports player’s welfare association, told ThePrint.

Components of the bill tabled in the assembly
The use of the internet, including PC resources or any specialized gadget as defined in IT Act 2000 during the time spent gaming will be disallowed, as per the bill, to check “the hazard of gaming through the internet, mobile applications”.

The bill expresses that online games including wagering or betting in all forms will be restricted. The denial will reach out to money, tokens instead of money paid in advance or later, regardless of whether by electronic means, virtual currency, electronic exchange of funds for wagering, or betting.

All acts of gambling money or in any case on the unknown result of an occasion will be disallowed. This will likewise incorporate betting or wagering directly or indirectly by the players playing any game or by any outsiders.

The amendment bill has additionally reclassified instruments of gaming to incorporate PCs, mobile applications, PC frameworks, internet, cyberspace, virtual stage, PC network, PC resource, any specialized gadget, electronic applications, software and accessories or means of online gaming, any document, register or record or proof of any gaming in electronic or digital forms, the returns of any online gaming as or any triumphant or prizes in money or in any case distributed or planned to be conveyed in regard of any gaming.

Games with stakes will be denied at individual homes just as cybercafes, in virtual game rooms, or on mobile applications and all gadgets covered under Information Technology Act, 2000.

Prison time for offenses under the act has additionally been updated from one year to three years under different sub-segments. Opening gambling dens, online gambling rooms and keeping common gaming rooms, and taking an interest will draw in three years of jail time and a fine of Rs 1 lakh.

The principle act’s section that permits wagering in games of skill has been precluded in the new bill. The bill is relied upon to come up for conversation one week from now in the legislative assembly.

Credits: ThePrint