The basic principles of which online games are permitted in India have been established with the government's recently notified online gaming rules, noted Minister of State for IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar during a Twitter Spaces talk last Friday. Furthermore, it is commonsensical that the Internet is not a subject that states can regulate, said Chandrasekhar. "Even countries are having difficulties in regulating the Internet because of the borderless nature of cyberspace. So, these rules, what they do is say what can be done on the Internet and what cannot. That power vests with the government of India via the IT Act [Information and Technology Act, 2000], and in the future, with its successor the Digital India Act. And, under the IT Act, we are today saying that on the Indian Internet, anything that is wagering is a no-go area for an intermediary or platform." "The Internet, as you know, cannot be regulated by states," Chandrasekhar added. "So, therefore, in a lot of ways, it's meaningless for a state government to try and legislate for things that are happening on the Internet. It's certainly something that they can't do very much about, even if they have law and order under their control for the state...Some states, organisations, and lawyers created a tremendous amount of confusion, maybe deliberately, maybe not so deliberate[ly], and have made this [issue of gaming regulation] a lot more complicated than it should be..." The rules permit online skill-based games verified by industry self-regulatory bodies. However, games involving gambling and…
