Despite banned on online games like Casino, Poker, Rummy and many more in Telangana state, the online games companies are duping several gullible people for lakhs of rupees. Police investigating some cases reported and unreported cases people commiting suicides and other crimes.
A Hyderabadi woman who lived in Subhashnagar recently killed herself. She allegedly lost Rs. 1,70,000 playing the online game, and because of her disappointment, she made the decision to take her own life.
The tragedy has rekindled the conversation about the negative effects of online gaming and gambling and if these activities need to be outlawed. There have been 12 suicides in Telangana in the past three years, according to a 2022 report by a group led by a retired Telangana High Court. It is presently thought that there are more than 25 of them.
The group was entrusted with researching the negative impacts and impact of internet gambling. The report was delivered by the panel to the Chief Minister in June of last year, and the state cabinet discussed it in September 2022. The 71-page report strongly recommended that the government enact new online gaming legislation. Following consideration of the recommendations, the Telangana government introduced an ordinance that limits internet gaming and outlaws online gambling. All political parties praised the decision, notably the one to ban casino, rummy, poker, and other games.
The Telangana Assembly enacted a bill outlawing online gambling, including games like casino, rummy, and poker, citing the study.
Several online games have been outlawed in six states in the last five years, including Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, and Nagaland, yet illegal operators still run their businesses. The Indian Constitution grants the governments the power to impose rules on games that use real money. However, experts claim that a federal regulation is urgently needed because the majority of gaming apps are widely accessible on the PlayStore and AppStore and cannot be blocked by local authorities.
The Public Gaming Act of 1857, which was probably developed from the United Kingdom’s Parliament’s Gaming Act of 1845 and Betting Act of 1853, regulated gambling in India prior to the promulgation of the Indian Constitution. According to the statute, games of skill were allowed prior to independence but public gambling and the operation of common gaming rooms were outlawed.
Games that featured betting and gambling were placed under Entry 34 of the State List when the Indian Constitution went into effect in 1950, granting state legislatures the power to enact regulations governing these activities. The Union List’s Entry 40, List 1’s inclusion of lotteries meant that the Indian Parliament had the authority to make laws about lotteries.
Additionally, state legislatures were given the authority to enact legislation governing the taxation of betting and gambling under Entry 62 of the State List. Several states approved the Public Gambling Act of 1857 with some modifications after the Constitution was passed. Specific legislation were created by states like Goa, Sikkim, Daman, Meghalaya, and Nagaland to control public gambling in their areas.
Due to the fact that internet gambling is a relatively young industry, not all of these states have rules governing it. Online gaming is governed by regulations in some states, including Sikkim, Meghalaya, and Nagaland. Online gambling games have been increasingly popular in recent years thanks to the expansion of the internet. Fantasy sports and league-based competitions have exploded in popularity. Players across the world and across India have taken to games like Poker, sports betting and casino games where they wager real money against other people in the digital space. Some states like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, and Assam have outright banned betting on fantasy sports leagues.
More than 35 crore Indians play online games with real money, claims the EY Media and Entertainment Study 2022. The demographics are biassed towards the younger population and towards the male population, especially in real money games, and the majority are young people between the ages of 18 and 35. “The number of online gamers in India increased to reach approximately 390 million in 2021 and is predicted to reach over 450 million by 2023,” the survey reads. The top 30 tier-III cities reported a 170 percent increase in gamers in 2020, making tier-III cities a significant factor in this growth. In 2021, poker and rummy both experienced growth of 23% and 28%, respectively. Increased traffic was what drove the user growth in the number of new gamers coming from northern India.”
These online gaming firms are likewise protected by the Constitution under Article 19(1)(g), which grants people the right to engage in any profession, occupation, trade, or business and conduct themselves as legal business entities.
In a recent analysis, ASSOCHAM and Ernst and Young predicted that online skill gaming would have a significant economic impact over the next few years and recommended that the government really encourage the sector to grow. According to the estimate, the online skill gaming market will be worth $2 billion in India alone by 2023, generating significant tax revenue even at this early stage. The sector is, however, being hampered by a number of legal issues.
Whether online gaming and gambling are permitted depends in large part on whether or not these activities entail skill or are merely games of chance. Numerous gaming sites have been working hard to show that games like Rummy and Poker do in fact require a certain amount of skill. Aditya Wadhwani, a poker analyst and consultant, stated that “Rummy, Poker, and Bridge are considered games of chance, which is why they are outlawed. Of course, if you play these games without talent, you are gambling. Similar to the stock market, if you don’t know what you’re doing, you’re likely to lose money eventually. So that is where they currently stand. However, the game requires a high level of ability, thus the amount of people who are successful here are on the lower side and most companies have policies but these games do involve financial risks.”
Aditya argued on behalf of the gaming industry in a high court case. His task was to define the role of skill in poker, establish whether it was a game of chance or skill, and present evidence supporting the skill component. Aditya continued, “Education comes first. You must approach each of these situations prepared. Because the risks are comparable to those of the stock market, I like to draw comparisons. People enter it in search of quick cash, but the truth is that if you want to do it right, it is more difficult than working a 9 to 5 job. Rummy and other similar games have very aggressive marketing campaigns that assure players of financial success.
However, in practise, playing these games requires a lot of time and volume in order to make any money at all. Since you’re playing games that involve probability, it’s not about making money in a single day; it’s about consistently making decent money after a year. Most people are unfamiliar with the concept of volume. That basic idea is not well understood by many people. Because most people don’t understand that they overexpose themselves, they frequently lose despite believing they have a strong hand.
Because they are not practising sound money management, it is disastrous. If you invest a small sum of money, you may endure these losses and eventually realise your equity. Aditya continued, “There are measures in place to protect individuals. Because it is real money, there is KYC linked to your PAn, and Aadhaar. It is a fairly stringent process, but of course people can find their way around anything. However, at least with Poker sites, when you win a substantial amount of money, there is a secondary check to verify that this is in fact the account holder displayed. So there are checks and balances in place. But all systems are beatable.”
Jay Satya, a technology and gaming lawyer, said the following while discussing the security of online gaming and gambling: “Both the online gaming service and the player bear some of the blame. The player should exercise some feeling of responsibility while participating. You must stay within your boundaries. It should be pursued independently by a person who is conscious.” Industry organisations like the All India Gaming Federation manage or promote responsible gaming, offering advice and enforcing time and money limitations.
These are all aspects of regulation. Some platforms are doing it, some are not. “At present, states have the authority to regulate gambling and betting. But most companies are outside the boundary of states, so how much can a state do is the question. Ideally, they should be regulated at the central level. There should be awareness about the risks.
All of them relate to regulation. Some platforms use it, whilst others do not. States currently have the power to control gaming and betting. But since most businesses are located outside of state borders, the question is how much a state can actually do. In a perfect world, they would be governed at the federal level. It is important to be informed of the risks.
In the event that a person feels unable to control the urge, counselling should also be made available. These safeguards could be strengthened. KYC is also crucial. To prevent addiction, one should monitor one’s income and time constraints. The negative psychological effects of internet gaming, particularly on young people and the poor, are yet another issue. A psychiatrist named Dr. Dhananjay described two cases: “There was a young boy from Adilabad district in Telangana. He used his mother’s credit card and spent about Rs 40,000. When she realised that there was something fishy, he was not able to deal with it and committed suicide.
In Telangana’s Warangal district, a young adult has a different tale to tell. He was found gaming by his father. He also murdered his father. These events are chilly. Are there any violent elements in these games? We have tried to investigate this. According to the majority of textbooks, gaming has no long-term effects on aggression.
“However, there is proof of transient violence brought on by gaming. Most of the students at the institution where we attended were in the 18 to 20 age range. I conducted a comparison of roughly 30 students who had an addiction to video games with 60 others who did not. We discovered that those who played more frequently were more likely to develop addictions. Spending more time with your family gives you protection of 68 per cent from becoming an addict. If the family keeps an eye on how long a child is playing and spends adequate time with the child, the chance of him becoming an addict is less. Does gaming affect people’s lives negatively?
While non-addicts play for only around 15 minutes a day, addicts play for between three and ten hours per day. Studies, employment, interactions with parents and partners, and physical fitness can all be negatively impacted by this. Additionally, COVID has contributed to a rise in children’s gaming.
“Mental health experts should try to develop worldwide consensus on evidence-based, effective policy measures while pushing for a balanced public health addiction approach,” states a research titled “A game of Policies and Context” that was published in the Lancet. An index of each video game’s propensity for addiction is needed, as well as a better integration of these metrics. Using the data supplied by video, an impartial multistakeholder expert panel may create such an index game development companies regarding use patterns and the extent of variable ratio reinforcement strategies in games.
Parents and guardians could be informed about monitoring and time limits using the ratings in conjunction with age and content warnings. Interfaces could be changed by businesses to alert players to unhealthy gaming habits and implement time outs.
The ideal opportunity to tell policy makers and health authorities about the mental health of young people who play video games is now when mental health is receiving so much attention. Dr. Dhananjay continued, “There are several reasons why people play video games. Some people use it as a coping strategy or an escape. Many of these demands are expressly addressed by the games in question. A loot box is an idea that worries me. You must pay for an unidentified item. It might be a small or large thing. Every now and then I may get something big, so I will keep buying more loot boxes in the hope of getting it again.
They are unknowingly engaging in gambling. “I’ve seen people whose lives were ruined by selling off all of their possessions. We worry that gaming shouldn’t be used as a stepping stone to gambling. To govern these games, there must be some sort of authority. Once someone develops a gaming addiction, we don’t strive to get them to stop; instead, we focus on helping them reach their life objectives, maintain wholesome relationships, and live a high-quality life.”
An inter-ministerial task group on online gaming was established by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology of the Government of India in May 2022 with the goal of developing a framework for improved regulation of the industry. Several ministries participated in the task force, including home affairs, electronics and IT, information and broadcasting, sports ministries, revenue, industries and internal trade departments and the NITI Aayog.
The following should be included in the proposed framework of the Central Regulation on Online Gaming, as per the draught regulations: Games of chance should be clearly distinguished from games of skill. There are now contrasting court rulings regarding many games, including poker. To prevent repeated compliances in many states, the industry needs a suitable regulating agency.
a process for resolving disputes that deals with consumer protection, transaction transparency, and financial safety. Additionally, it was suggested that real money gambling should have an upper age limit and have open rules and transactions. The NITI Aayog has emphasised the need for gaming platforms’ advertising to follow the norms of the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), where the prizes are concerned cannot be shown to be assured or a source of livelihood.
Aditya said the following when discussing deceptive advertising: “Many people are unaware that the expertise required requires a lot of time, and the majority are only looking to earn a quick cash. Due to the fact that this is how some operators gain acquisition, they also play in this direction.” They make claims like “zero to hero” and “become rich quick.” They don’t expressly promise that because they can’t, but they do indicate it.
The prize money is typically a guarantee in competitions. Sometimes the tournament survivors who are still alive split the pricing code. They would state you would win one crore if there was a one crore guarantee, which is untrue. A thousand individuals will be vying for one to share. #Khabarlive #hydnews #hydlive
