Online Gambling
Online gambling is one of the major industries that gained popularity due to Internet availability. As per the latest statistics, India has 1.10 billion people (79% of the Population) having access to Mobile and 624 million (42% of the population) have access to the Internet, amongst this 92.8% of them play games online be it (a) Smartphone (b) laptop (c) Gaming Console, (d) Tablets (e) Hand-Held Device (f) Media Streaming Devices and (g) Virtual Reality Headsets
About Is betting legal in India? :
Based on the Public Gambling Act of 1867, all forms of gambling are illegal in India. This means that placing bets on your favorite game or a player (both online and offline) is illegal and not allowed.
In order to understand the legality, we need to understand more about two types of games where betting is done. (a) Game of chance: These are luck-based games, these types of games are illegal in India. Prior knowledge or understanding is not required to bet for these games. (b) Game of skill: These are games that require analytical decision-making, logical thinking, physical ability rather than a choice, these types of games are legal in few states of India.
Although it’s illegal in India, they take the clever route of hosting an online website and alternatively get licenses from (a) Curacai Gaming – From the Caribbean (b) Malta Gaming Authority – From the Mediterranean (c) UK Gambling Commission – From United Kingdom. They hardly spend around €25,000 to obtain licenses from these countries and this information is written in small text size, usually in the footer, claiming these can be played only in listed countries.
Varieties of Online Gaming / Betting Apps :
- Online Gambling and Betting – This is all forms of betting that take place over the internet and therefore encapsulates events of skill and chance. Examples include: Online poker, Fantasy sports (if played for money) & Virtual casinos
- Games of Chance – These are games of chance where the outcome is strongly influenced by randomising devices and players have little to no control over the result. Examples include: Lottery and Dice type games.
- Games of Skill – These are games where the outcome is predominantly determined by the player’s physical or mental skill rather than chance. However, even these are regulated if they involve monetary stakes. Examples include: Poker and Rummy (if played for money)
- Sports Betting – This involves placing bets on the outcomes of various sports events, including but not limited to: Cricket, Football and Horse racing
- Casino Games – These are games typically played in an atmosphere of a casino, either of chance or skill. (i.e., Blackjack and Slot machines)
How Social Media Influencers Promote Betting Apps:
Such social media influencers are applying various modes of encouraging betting apps and persuading their followers to join such platforms. Here is the breakdown of how they work:
- Building off the trust and influence – Influencers do enjoy high volumes of trust with their followers. Their promotion of the betting applications borrows from this trust and makes the promotions credible or rather appealing.
- Glamorisation of Betting – Influencers reflect a glamorous lifestyle, attributing their wealthy and successful life to the usage of the betting apps. They were braggartly portraying how they had won big, showing off new expensive trinkets against great exotic holidays to create the illusion that gambling was an easy way to financial freedom.
- Exclusive Offers and Discounts – Many influencers share special offers, discounts, or bonus codes that are supposedly available only if you sign up through their referral link. In such cases, there is the incumbent air of exclusivity and urgency to get aboard fast.
- Demonstrate and tutorial – Most influencers make content to show how to use the betting application by mostly showing one’s self placing bets and winning money. Such tutorials make it look easy, risk-free, and tempt followers to try the same.
- Testimonials and Success Stories – Testimonials from purportedly successful users claiming to have made plenty of money through the betting application confirm that winning is normal and easily achieved.
- Engaging Content – Influencers merge advertisements within interesting content, such as challenges or live streaming, by making engaging posts.
Betting App Frauds Modus Operandi :
Frauds related to betting apps in India are executed through a variety of fraudulent mechanisms designed to fleece people. Here’s how they usually function:
- Sudden Shutdowns – Some apps suddenly shut down, disappearing with all the money that users have deposited in them. Quite often they come back with a different name and repeat this scam
- False Advertisement – Most fraudulent betting applications promise absurdly high returns and easiness of money. This is supported by fabricated testimonials, doctored screenshots that show big wins as happening quite frequently.
- Odds/Outcome Manipulation – Such apps can manipulate the odds/outcomes so that over time, people lose money. The wins are often strategically placed to keep people hooked into the game; however, the overall system goes against them.
- Phishing and Data Stealing – Some gambling apps are specifically engineered to gather personal and financial information from their customers. Once they get hold of this information, they could conduct identity theft or unauthorised transactions.
- Delayed or No Payout – Such fake apps delay the various payouts or refuse to pay at all. They can cite technical problems or mention unreasonable conditions by which the extraction of winnings of any kind becomes almost impossible.
- Bonus Traps – Most apps allure users through attractive bonuses that they offer with stringent wagering requirements. This would mean that the user has to bet a considerable amount of money before he can withdraw any winning, and more often than not, end up losing more than what was initially deposited.
- Evasion of Customer Service – On facing problems, fraudulent apps turn a blind eye towards poor or non-existent customer service. They avoid queries and complaints and leave the user in the lurch for support or redress.
How These Apps Continue to Function Despite the Ban :
- The Offshore Operations – Most of the betting apps operate from offshore locations beyond the ambit of the Indian legal system. They keep their servers and business operations in countries where gambling laws are not so stringent.
- VPNs – Through Virtual Private Networks, most users try to access such betting platforms to bypass the geographical restrictions put in place by the Indian government.
- Alternate Payment Methods – These applications offer a large variety of payment alternatives, including cryptocurrencies, e-wallets, and international payment gateways that allow transactions hardly traceable.
- Marketing Strategies – The never-stopping influencers and affiliates market these apps on social media, YouTube, or any other online places.
- Localised Content – All the betting applications have been well-customised to suit Indian users. The apps offer popular sports like cricket and often host content in vernacular languages.legal status of gambling in India in 2021 requires more deliberations from civil societies, technology companies, cyber police, and cyber lawyers to come out with a comprehensive new legal framework (gambling act) that suites the current trends.
Conclusion :
The legal status of gambling in India in 2021 requires more deliberations from civil societies, technology companies, cyber police, and cyber lawyers to come out with a comprehensive new legal framework (gambling act) that suites the current trends.
Apple and Google have excluded ‘From Respective states of India’ in the list of places where gambling apps are not allowed and these apps can download only from websites (via APK and DMZ Files) and not from the App Store or Play Store. For now, all the victims are requested to reach the economic offenses wing of the police department and file a complaint to see possibilities of getting justice.
