It Is Glaring That Gambling Has Gained Ground In The Name Of Online Gaming

I wrote this opinion piece for Outlook India to make a point that still holds up: a lot of what gets marketed as "online gaming" in India is really gambling wearing a friendlier name.

The short version:

• Gaming and gambling aren't the same thing. Gaming is playing a game on a phone, console, or computer. Gambling is staking money on a game of chance. Real-money platforms have spent years collapsing that line, and the lockdown boom let the industry grow fast and largely unregulated.
• "Chance" gets dressed up as "skill." Games like Teen Patti and Poker get pushed as esports, but selecting players on luck rather than competence is gambling — and these platforms can be rigged, with no way to know whether you're up against a bot or a person.
• The social cost is real. No age verification means minors can pour money in and rack up debt, and debts people can't repay feed into crime and suicide.
• The law is ancient. India's gambling law dates to 1867. Other countries have modern rules — the US (UIGEA, 2006) and Singapore (Remote Gambling Act) being examples — while real-money gaming here sits in a grey zone.
• What's needed: real oversight of the RMG industry and its algorithms, a firm legal line between gaming and gambling, and bringing these platforms under regulatory and tax standards so the government can fund support for problem gambling.

If gambling becomes a game, playing becomes betting and sport becomes gambling. Time for action.

Read the full piece on Outlook India: It Is Glaring That Gambling Has Gained Ground In The Name Of Online Gaming.