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Amid the crisis, when every sector was falling, the arena of online gambling was expanding to its new heights. India witnessed the greatest growth in online gambling due to lockdown and increased internet penetration among the masses. With the advent of online games, Middle-class people also started to play these partially skill based online games. This has also led to several adverse effects on youth as well.

Market

Online gambling is any kind of gambling conducted on the internet. This includes virtual poker, casinos and sports betting. Today the market is worth around $60 Billion globally, with India being the largest growing market.

Factors

Rising Disposable income has given a major impetus to people in India to gamble on skill based /luck based online games. Due to increasing internet and smart phones penetration since 2016, the market has grown manifolds. the Covid-19 pandemic has not stopped people from spending in these online games at ufa.

Legality

Online gambling, in effect, has not been banned or regulated by any legislation of the country. Gambling, being a state subject, has led to no uniform law in the country. Nor does India have any regulatory framework to manage the market. Several states have different rules and regulations regarding online gambling. Thus, the subject has fallen into Judiciary’s ambit. Several high courts of the country have preferred to not ban the online games like DREAM11 and have put them in the skill based games category. For instance, The Punjab and Haryana High Court ruled that the format of Dream11 is a game of skill and does not fall within the definition of gambling. Similarly, In 2019, the Bombay High Court also passed a similar ruling and this year the Bombay High Court also passed a similar ruling. Although the take of the Supreme Court is different on the issue and has served notices to the relevant companies.

The way ahead

There is an immediate need to regulate the market because, if not regulated, this might lead to other illegal activities such as money laundering, fraud, computer hacking. This may also lead to mass addiction in youths, causing several psychological problems, which will in turn increase crimes rates. The world is gambling and online games are constantly evolving, some types are deemed legal whereas others are prohibited by laws for evident reasons. One should only enjoy those activities which are regulated by the laws of the place a player belongs to.