Online gaming industry in
India has seen promising trends in India in the year 2015. Online
gaming entrepreneurs are also very enthusiastic about the future of
online gaming industry in India. At Perry4Law
Organisation (P4LO) we have been helping various online
gaming entrepreneurs in complying with techno legal requirements of
Indian and other jurisdictions. These include techno legal
compliances about online poker, online rummy, fantasy games, mobile
games, Internet games, e-sports, card games, lotteries in India, etc.
However, a disturbing
trend of "legal violations" is fast dominating the online
gaming industry of India. For instance, the fine line and distinction
between online gambling and
online gaming in India is not appreciated and understood by
online gambling and gaming enthusiastics of India. As a result they
are frequently
prosecuted in India for violating online gaming and online
gambling laws of India. Even technical mechanisms are also
used to curb such activities in restricted territories or zones. For
instance, the Andhra Pradesh CID has requested the Cert-In
to block Playwin/s website in AP on the ground of
prohibition of online gambling in AP. In the past, Kerala refused
permission to Future Gaming Solutions India Private Ltd to
sell Nagaland lotteries in the state.
We have very specific and
unique online
poker laws and regulations in India. Whether by design or
ignorance, online
poker websites in India are violating
these laws of India. Many online poker players in India
also play the same in active violation of the laws of India in this
regard. Most of them are not even aware whether playing online poker
in India is legal
or illegal. Further, taxability
of online poker websites of India is another crucial issue
that is frequently ignored by poker entrepreneurs. The laws
and regulations for online gambling and online gaming in India
must be religiously followed by all the stakeholders in their own
interest.
Both online gaming and
online gambling market of India is fast
booming and maturing.
Entrepreneurs in these fields have started exploring Indian markets
to establish their ventures in India. Some of them have even
established their businesses in neighbour countries like Nepal and
Sri Lanka so that the moment Indian market is liberalised they can
easily establish their venture in India. Amazon
is also targeting home entertainment segment as it bought
Videogame Studio Double Helix Games.
Mobile games have also
become popular world over, including India. The market size for
online games and mobile games is tremendous. There are very few
players as on date in the mobile gaming industry of India. However,
these players have to resolve many techno legal issues before they
can establish their businesses in India. These include mobile
payment compliances, payment
gateway and POS terminal service due diligence, websites
development compliances, Internet
intermediary obligations, cyber
law due diligence (PDF), etc. Presently many mobile
application developers are violating Indian laws and may
be prosecuted in the near future.
Perry4Law
strongly recommends that online and mobile gaming entrepreneurs and
businesses in India must ensure techno legal compliances before
launching their respective ventures in India. Avoiding these techno
legal compliances would prove counter productive in the long run.
