Online Gaming has become a rage over the last couple of years, this is just not some buzz in the gamers circuit, Mukesh Ambani, Asia’s richest man and Chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd is bullish about it being bigger than music, movies, and television shows put together. A KPMG report claimed this industry to reach 118.8 Billion rupees by 2023. A big pie of Online Gaming is Online Gambling, this is our attempt at decoding the latter from the perspective of the Indian landscape. Gambling as per Indian laws is subjective, it’s not a black or white document from the law perspective. The subject can be further divided into multiple arenas of Online Lottery, Rummy, Poker, etc, In this article, we focus on Online Lottery. 

This concept of the Online Lottery was introduced to India years ago, but back then, people were more inclined towards the traditional methods of lottery tickets. As an online pavement seemed like a threat to them, it was perceived that these platforms could swindle money and empty bank accounts. But as India witnessed an upsurge in online methods of shopping, education, and communication, the Online Lottery forums rose to engrave a particular spot in the hearts of Indian lottery players, and well, to be precise, it did. If we observe the statistics, we will notice an increase of 56 percent in the online lottery engagement, which is in sheer contrast to the last decade. Now, at least 80 percent of India’s lottery takers buy online lottery tickets through Lottoland.

The lottery has been a huge part of the Indian culture and economy for many decades. As many as 13 Indian states operate legal state lotteries that not only become a source of both entertainment and some prizes for the citizens but also generate much-needed revenue for the state. These lotteries however are only available for the residents of the states where these lotteries are legal. Plus, Indians can only buy physical lottery tickets from state-run lotteries.

And what about the Indians who live in states where the lottery isn’t available?

For them, an Online lottery comes to the rescue. Online lottery can be played by anyone in India, using an online lottery website. These online lotteries not only allow you to buy lottery tickets online but also cover international lotteries that would otherwise not be available to people. Thanks to websites such as Lottoland or Lotto247, Indians have gotten the opportunity to win jackpots such as the US Powerball, Megamillions, or the Euromillions.

From the law perspective:

Under the Constitution of India, the Central Legislature has the power to enact laws concerning lotteries. The Central Lottery Laws allow the State governments to organize, conduct or promote a lottery, subject to the conditions specified in the Central Lotteries Laws. The state governments may appoint an individual or a corporate as a “distributor or selling agent” through an agreement to market and sell lotteries on behalf of the organizing State. 

While some states such as Punjab, have gone to the extent of specifically providing for and approving online lottery systems to be governed by the state Lottery Laws, states like Bihar have introduced legislation expressly banning it with the Bihar Ban on Lottery Act, 1993. It is to be noted that State Legislations have been enacted before the advent of virtual/online gambling and therefore refer to gambling activities taking place on physical premises only, barring Sikkim and Nagaland which are the only States who have recently introduced laws regulation online gaming. 

The laws regarding lottery are determined by the State governments in India. Thus, while some states run state lotteries, others have banned the practice of lottery entirely. However, since online lotteries are drawn outside the country, they do not come under the jurisdiction of Indian law. As far as Indian law is concerned, there are no private lotteries available, and people can only buy state-run lottery tickets. However, since Online Lottery websites exist outside the country, all Indians can freely choose to spend their money on online lottery tickets but this also means that they will not find any relief from the judiciary in case of any mishaps. 

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