New Delhi
Putting money on uncertain events amounts to wagering and the government’s new rules bar online real money games that declare winners based on prediction of the unknown outcome, according to Additional Solicitor General N Venkataraman. Amid attempts by certain industry players to masquerade wagering as a game of skills in the wake of the new rules issued under the Information Technology (IT) Act, the government’s senior law officer said that some states are making a mistake in trying to distinguish between a game of skill and a game of chance in the context of wagering. He also emphasised that the rules should be tested on the basis of the country’s Constitution, statutory provisions and Supreme Court judgements.
According to him, many sites are controlled from outside India and money of Indians get peddled out of the country through fictitious accounts and to anonymous jurisdictions. These businesses are clearly outside the Indian regulatory and tax systems and hence dangerous to the fiscal structure of the country, he added. In one of the platforms being run from outside India, their bank account showed a turnover of Rs 14,000 crore. (And) no taxes were paid in India, Venkataraman said as he highlighted the legal actions being taken by the tax authorities with respect to such platforms. The senior law officer also said the controversy over online games is not only about legality or otherwise in the context of wagering but there are deep rooted social issues involved as well, which the government is concerned about. There is an element of addiction amongst youth and loss of hard-earned money of citizens as well. Apart from these, possible money laundering and other aspects of crime and abuse cannot also be ruled out, he said.
