The Nagaland Prohibition
of Gambling and Promotion and Regulation of Online Games of Skill
Bill, 2015 (“Bill”) has now become an applicable law and very
soon rules would also be added to the same. Once the rules are added,
actual implementation of the Nagaland
Gaming Act, 2016 would be possible.
Surprisingly,
the Nagaland Gaming Act, 2016 has not been made public by the
government of Nagaland so far. Perry4Law
Organisation (P4LO) has already contacted the Nagaland
government and has requested for the official documents in this
regard so that we can share the same with gaming stakeholders. For
the time being, Perry4Law
Law Firm has provided an analysis of the Nagaland
Gaming Act, 2016 based on the publicly available information and
inputs. Please see the Nagaland
Prohibition of Gambling and Promotion and Regulation of Online Games
of Skill Bill 2015: Salient Features (pdf) for the
complete analysis.
However, for those who
are in a hurry, we have also provided an abridged version of this
analysis. Please see the article titled Salient
Features Of The Nagaland Prohibition Of Gambling And Promotion And
Regulation Of Online Games Of Skill Act 2016 in this
regard. Many online poker, online rummy and online
fantasy sports entrepreneurs would be happy to apply for a
licence in due course of time.
However, we at
Perry4Law Law Firm believe that the Nagaland
Gaming Act, 2016 has certain "legal infirmities" that must
be immediately removed by the government of Nagaland. Otherwise,
online gaming stakeholders would be vulnerable to legal risks and
litigation threats across the nation.
Some of the salient
features of the Nagaland
Gaming Act, 2016 are as follows:
(1) The Act allows games of skills and prohibits games involving
gambling elements.
(2) Some games have been specifically included in games of skill and
this would reduce the confusion about the nature of gambling
activities. However, inherent conflicts and inconsistency is there in
the provisions of the Act and this would create problems for the
gaming stakeholders in future.
(3)
Severe fines have been prescribed by the Act for gambling activities.
For instance, a fine of Rs 20 lakhs will be applicable
in the first instance, followed by an imprisonment of 6 months if not
remedied further.
(4) Games which have been
declared by courts (Indian or International) as games of skill may be
included in this list in future. The Finance Commissioner or any
Licensing Authority will be permitted to add to this list the games
of skill as long as it is in consonance with the definition of ‘Games
of Skill’ under the Act.
(5) The Act applies to
any territory in India in which “games of skill” are permitted
and are recognised as being exempt from the ambit of “gambling”.
This would raise serious
legal issues as till now the legality of games like online
poker, online
rummy, e-sports,
fantasy
sports, online
card games, online
fantasy games, online
lotteries, etc is not clear.
P4LO has been managing a
Blog titled Online
Gaming And Gambling Laws And Regulations In India to help
online gaming and online gambling stakeholders of India and other
jurisdictions. This Blog can be used as a guidance by the gaming
stakeholders and if they need our techno legal professional
assistance, they can establish a client
attorney relationship and seek our services.
(6) Indian place of
business and Indian connections are essential for getting a licence
from the Nagaland government. An interest in any online or offline
gambling activities in India or abroad would bar an individual or
entity from getting the licence.
(7) The State Government,
may, by notification, designate an authority or body to monitor and
regulate the activities of all licensees to ensure compliance with
the provisions of this Act, and to settle all disputes arising from
the activities conducted under this Act
(8) If the licensee
operates in a state where the state government believes the company
is violating the provisions of the act or its rules, or in violation
of local laws, it may inform the licensing authority of Nagaland. The
licensing authority shall then try and get the issues resolved.
P4LO welcomes this
legislation from Nagaland government. However, there are certain
techno legal issues that have skipped the attention of government of
Nagaland. It would be prudent to cover those issues before the rules
are notified by the Nagaland government.
Further, in their own
interest, the online gaming stakeholders who are planning to explore
Nagaland's market must also undergo a techno legal audit so that
their online gaming business runs smoothly the moment it is started.
