The Indian government has released a new set of rules which are designed to regulate the online gambling sector in the country, establishing a string of self-regulatory bodies which should oversee the industry.
The Indian Ministry of Electronics and IT published the new rules as amendments to the Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code in order to address online gambling in the country.
Now the amendments will be publicly debated with stakeholders and the general population, a process that will remain open until 17 January. Then, the government will take suggestions into account and go forward with the implementation of the new legislation.
The new rules define an online game as “any game played via the internet” which requires a player to make a deposit “with the expectation of earning winnings”. If necessary, the Indian government stipulated that it may need to declare certain games to be covered by the rules. Moreover, the amendments note that any online game offered to the public must not be in violation of any existing laws, including state-wide gambling bans.