The Tamil Nadu government is looking to introduce regulations on online gaming. The development follows reports of at least 20 deaths by suicide that surfaced recently in the state owing to financial debts stemming from online games, including that of a woman who had to cope with gambling debts allegedly caused by online rummy. For that, the government is seeking inputs from stakeholders and the general public on proposed legislation to control such games. As part of that, the Esports Players Welfare Association (EPWA) has made its representation to the state government to not criminalise online skill-based gamers.
During its representation to Tamil Nadu’s Department of Home, Prohibition, and Excise Department on August 11, EPWA recommended that online skill-based players should not be branded as gamblers, the non-profit said in a press release. “Multiple legislations and putting skill based games in the same bucket as gambling is leading to criminalisation of skill-based players,” said EPWA Director Shivani Jha. "While India is participating in international tournaments and developers are making new games, it is imperative for the state to regulate online skill-based gaming."
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EPWA requested the Tamil Nadu government to provide a safe harbour for professional, amateur, and casual online skill gamers “as exemption from the ambit of any state-related gambling or gaming legislations.”
On June 10, Tamil Nadu constituted a committee led by former Madras High Court judge K Chandru to look into the issue. The panel has already filed its submission in a report. The government will take a call after reviewing inputs.
Criminalising online gaming
As online gaming gained popularity over the past few years, several Indian states have tried to ban such games, which inadvertently led to the criminalisation of playing online skill games. As per these amendments, users found playing online skill games for stake would be subject to imprisonment for prizes won in the form of cash or any other equivalent token with imprisonment of up to three years along with a fine. Jha said, "Courts have repeatedly pronounced judgments stating the state government can only make laws on online gambling and not gaming, this ends up putting players at risk and equating them with gamblers and criminals."
Is online gaming the same as gambling?
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in July categorically termed online gaming "nothing but gambling". "Whether it is horse-racing or online gaming or casinos, the common thread that the Committee highlighted was they are part of betting and gaming,” Sitharaman said. "In other words, they are essentially gambling. There may be an element of skill in it or an element of chance in it. But essentially, all the three are gambling.”
Earlier this month, the GoM met industry bodies and leading operators to discuss the valuation approach for GST on online gaming and attempted to understand how online skill gaming is different from betting and gambling.
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The GoM heard the legal distinction between online ‘games of skill' and ‘games of chance'. Leading industry representatives of the online gaming industry and tax advisory firms shared multiple Supreme Court and High Court rulings, which have affirmed a clear legal distinction between games of chance, which fall under betting and gambling, and games of skill which do not.
As per rulings of multiple Courts, ‘games of skill' are legitimate business activities protected under Article 19(1)(g) of the Indian Constitution since they do not fall under the purview of ‘gambling'. These precedents have repeatedly emphasised that games of chance constitute gambling activity while games of skill do not.
“Online games can be broadly divided into e-sports, casual games, and speculative games. Each category has features which have to be understood before a ban is put in place,” Zerah Gonsalves, esports specialist and an EPWA consultant, told ABP Live. “A ban on in-game purchases in esports and casual games will hurt the players, the future of the gaming industry in India.”
With over 13,000 registered members, EPWA spans over 24 states and it looks to build a community of esports players from across the country where they can exchange ideas, communicate, discuss, and most importantly become a unified voice of esports players in India.