Nagaland officially signed online games of Skills act

The gambling legislation now has to be published in the Official Gazette in order to start promoting online licenses.

India.- The governor of Nagaland state, Padmanabha Acharya, signed the Prohibition of Gambling and Promotion of Online Games of Skill Bill’s approval at the beginning of April. Now, the first Indian state that passes an online gaming bill is waiting for the official enactment to set the basic regulations and licensing details.

Online real-money games in India have an unclear position. Only Assam and Odisha states prohibited them, whilst the rest do not condemn them, but neither legalise them. Few operators in the Asian country run skill-based gambling websites with previous authorisation of judicial system. In Nagaland, the legislation project will cover poker, fantasy sports and rummy betting services via Internet.

The Online Skills Games establishes a difference between games “where there is preponderance of skill over chance,” which will be approved, and illegal gambling services based only in “betting on games of change.” Nevertheless, 64 percent of Nagaland’s citizens are against the gaming act alleging that is just “another way for politicians to make money.” Indian society is concerned about negative effects on their lives. Few supporters of the legislation proposed in July 2015 by T. R. Zeilang, chief minister of Nagaland, expect the government to set clear rules and a “proper system” to control online gaming operations.