iGaming Business magazine iGB 111 July/Aug | Page 130

Regulation
A LONG ROAD AHEAD:
INDIA’S JOURNEY THROUGH
IGAMING REGULATION
Susan O’Leary talks about the steps being taken in India to protect customers as the market
awaits the legalisation and regulation of igaming
Susan O’Leary is CEO of Alderney eGambling.
An experienced lawyer, she has represented
some of the world’s leading online gambling
operators and service providers, including many
of Alderney’s licensees.
Discussing the opportunities and challenges presented by grey
markets is very much a hot topic in igaming of late. While the
US market has demanded the lion’s share of attention, and Latin
America and African countries continue to make encouraging
progress, one market that has been less talked about is India.
India is a market with almost unparalleled potential. Take a
brief look at the evidence: a country with a population of 1.3 billion
people, the world’s sixth largest economy (according to the IMF) and
growing at an annual rate of 7-8%, and a rapidly improving digital
infrastructure and mobile connectivity.
Add to this a strong sporting and gambling tradition, and
a study by KPMG India and Google predicts that India’s igaming
market could generate $1 billion per year in revenues by 2021.
However, to achieve this growth in a sustainable fashion,
it is fundamental that India’s online gaming community works
together to implement an infrastructure that ensures consumers
are protected and that there is fairness and integrity in the sector.
The current landscape
In early July 2018 the Law Commission of India released its report
on betting and gambling on sports conducted at the behest of India’s
Supreme Court and recommended that gambling and betting on
sports including cricket should be legalised and regulated and more
powerful laws be introduced to prevent match fixing and cheating.
This is ground breaking, and so soon after the US PASPA position
which is also a federal system. However, legislation can take a long
time to be introduced and enforced with the relevant oversight body
established, especially when an issue is so politically charged.
Games of skill are currently considered legal in India, but only
the immensely popular card game rummy is acknowledged at a
federal level. Other games, particularly poker and DFS and even
horseracing have also enjoyed impressive growth in the market and
protection in some provinces.
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iGamingBusiness | Issue 111 | July/August 2018
It is important to remember that there remains a harm factor
around these activities, regardless of whether they are classified as
gambling or games of skill. Indeed, many of these activities are more
commonly regarded as gambling in other territories such as the UK..
The question we need to be asking is how to balance the nuances
of a regulatory framework in a country the size and scale of India.
It needs to be fit for purpose and proportionate, minimising harm
and protecting consumers while also ensuring fairness and integrity
throughout the Indian online gaming market. Achieving this will be
no mean feat.
Fortunately, India appears willing to embrace regulation and
learn lessons from other jurisdictions and regulators.
It is early days, but compared to the US, which has a similar federal/
state structure to India, it looks as though India’s legislators will be
keener to refer to the examples of Europe and elsewhere than many
US states when it comes to introducing sustainable gaming laws.
Protecting consumers
Given the size of the Indian market and the growing number of
operators and suppliers that are keen to enter, it is important to act
swiftly. Frameworks to protect consumers need to be in place from
the get-go, and it will not be enough to delay acting until the Indian
government formally introduces new regulations.
“A study by KPMG India and Google
predicts that India’s igaming market
could generate $1 billion
per year in revenues by 2021 ”
For this reason, we have recently been working with the All
India Gaming Federation (AIGF) to put in place a self-regulatory
framework designed to protect consumers from possible harm.
Earlier this year, the AIGF announced an opt-in scheme covering
the skill gaming sector. The Skill Charter was a reaction to the lack
of guidance from the government. It provides for the creation of
an advisory panel to help maintain high standards of consumer
protection in India’s skill gaming industry.