A TIMELY END

The Indian legal system was always clear. Gambling and betting are already restricted under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and legislations in states across India. The online space, however, remained unregulated before August

- Lekha Rattanani

The complete ban imposed by a new law on real money gaming is one clear move in the right direction.

There have been many arguments floated since this sudden clampdown on how a new and nascent industry is being killed, how jobs will be lost, how investor confidence will be eroded and how games of skills are different from games of chance. On the other hand, is the trap in which millions of ordinary Indians had already landed, lured by high voltage ads that made deep inroads into homes and pockets of people who in the end had little chance of winning — and yet signed up for this bad bargain on what essentially were misleading if not false promises. Such was the impact that ads began broadcasting in local languages, casting their net deep into the heartland of India and inviting housewives to play rummy, of cash awards that awaited and of bonuses that they could use to make more money while sitting at home. A distressing part of the exercise, all in the name of legitimate business activity, was celebrities and influencers using their popularity to advertise these “games”. Give some time, and the modern-day marketing machine of companies with deep pockets could turn a pastime act into a ruinous activity for citizens.