Rajasthan Govt Tells High Court That Draft Online Regulation Framed, Under Consideration

The Indian online gaming industry has been in the spotlight over the past few months. After Tamil Nadu reinstated the ban on online skill games through the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Gambling and Regulation of Online Games Ordinance, 2022, Rajasthan is the latest state embroiled in the matter of online gaming. While the state is looking to regulate online gaming through draft legislation, in perhaps a cruel twist of fate, skill games such as rummy, poker and ludo have been banned.

In March, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot announced plans to regulate the online gaming sector. Hearing a petition seeking online gaming regulation earlier this month, the state government told the High Court that it has drafted the legislation. The government further informed the Court that the Rajasthan Virtual Online Sports (Regulation) Bill is with the appropriate authority and under consideration.

The state counsel submitted before the then-acting Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice Vinod Kumar Bharwani in response to a PIL filed by the Resource Institute for Human Rights. The PIL sought that the state brings in legislation to check the menace of online gaming.

While the Court noted the submission, it disposed of the plea by making it open for the state to consider the matter. The Court commented – “We only place on record the statement of learned counsel for the State that State has prepared a draft bill and the matter is under consideration.”

What the Draft Legislation Says

Here are the top aspects that the Rajasthan Virtual Online Sports (Regulation) Bill covers:

> Seeks to regulate fantasy sports and eSports, now a medal event in the Asian Games and recognized by the International Olympic Committee.

> eSports platforms will be prohibited from conducting simulated sports that are not recognized by any accredited sporting federation.

> Skill games like poker, rummy, and; ludo are banned.

> Anyone found playing any of the banned games mentioned above is liable to be levied a penalty of up to ₹2 Lakhs for license and advertising violations

> Envisages establishing a Virtual Online Sports Commission, comprising a retired High Court or Supreme Court judge, a retired government servant not below the rank of secretary, and a person having vast experience in the field of sports and sports federations, to oversee regulated online gaming in the state

> A private, self-regulatory body will work under the Virtual Online Sports Commission

Reactions to the Legislation

The Rajasthan government drafted the Rajasthan Virtual Online Sports (Regulation) Bill at May-end. At the time, the government invited public opinion on the draft law. While the Bill recognizes fantasy games and eSports, it seeks to ban games of skill like poker, rummy, and ludo and make playing them a punishable offense.

The Bill invited criticism from gaming sector components that called it “lopsided” and “incomplete.” The Esports Federation of India (ESFI) questioned why eSports was clubbed with fantasy games.

All India Gaming Federation (AIGF) had demanded that the state extend the bill’s scope beyond fantasy sports and eSports. In a submission to the government, the AIGF had said – “We submit that all online games of skill including poker, rummy and casual games should be considered for any such regulation. We submit that such a step will be incomplete if only esports and fantasy sports operators are considered.”

Similarly, legal gaming expert Jay Sayta had asked why the government chose to regulate only two sectors while leaving out significant games like rummy and poker. Sayta also questioned the prospect of the government outsourcing the powers of regulation and monitoring of the state’s gaming activities to a private, self-regulatory body.

On the other hand, the Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS), another self-regulatory for fantasy sports, welcomed the legislation.

The government may have moved forward in drafting legislation on online games but has clearly followed the blanket-ban approach regarding popular online games like rummy and poker.