For years, legality of online gaming in India rested largely on one question: Is it a game of skill or chance? That debate is now giving way to a wider concern over addiction, financial losses and public safety. A study by Advocate Manan R Daga examines this shift and the changing legal framework governing online betting. The study examines how the rapid growth of betting applications has made gambling easily accessible, while leaving many users unaware of the legal consequences. It points out that the earlier legal framework was largely designed to deal with traditional gambling and did not clearly address digital platforms. Daga, a native of Nagpur and practising lawyer at Supreme Court, traces this uncertainty to the Public Gambling Act of 1867 and the Information Technology Act, 2000, which initially had no specific provisions dealing with online betting applications.

 

The study also discusses the long-standing distinction between games of skill and games of chance. The Supreme Court’s ruling in Dr K R Lakshmanan vs State of Tamil Nadu recognised that games in which skill plays a dominant role, such as horse-racing, cannot automatically be treated as gambling. However, Daga notes that the legal approach has since moved towards wider concerns, including addiction, mounting debt and public safety. The study discusses legal position on States’ powers to regulate or prohibit online games played for money. It also examines taxation of real-money gaming, arguing that the money placed as stakes has become an important factor in deciding tax liability, irrespective of whether a game involves skill or chance.

 

A major part of the study deals with the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025. It describes the law as a shift towards a uniform national framework. According to the study, the Act prohibits online money games, including those based on skill, chance or a combination of both. It also provides for action against platforms, financial transactions and advertisements linked to such games. At the same time, the law seeks to promote e-sports and non-monetary social and educational games. The study warns that users of unverified applications also face risks of fraud, debt traps and misuse of personal data.