Jurisprudence Project

On

ON-LINE GAMES AND ETHICAL AND LEGAL

CONCERNS: A JURISPRUDENTIAL ANALYSIS

Submitted to:

Dr. KAUMUDHI CHALLA

Faculty of Jurisprudence

Submitted by:

MUSKAN KHATRI

Roll no.:87

Semester-V, Section-B

B.A. LLB (Hons.)

HIDAYATULLAH NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

Uparwara Post, Abhanpur, Atal Nagar (C.G.) – 492002
 DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY
I, Muskan Khatri, have undergone research of the project work titled “ON-LINE GAMES
AND ETHICAL AND LEGAL CONCERNS: A JURISPRUDENTIAL ANALYSIS”, as
a student of Jurisprudence. I hereby declare that this Research Project has been prepared by
the student for academic purpose only, and is the outcome of the investigation done by me
and also prepared by myself under the supervision of Dr. Kaumudhi Challa, Faculty of
Jurisprudence, Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur. The views expressed in the
report are personal to the student and do not reflect the views of any authority or any other
person, and do not bind the statute in any manner.

I also declare that this Research Paper or any part, thereof has not been or is not being
submitted elsewhere for the award of any degree or Diploma. This report is the intellectual
property of the on the part of student research work, and the same or any part thereof may not
be used in any manner whatsoever in writing.

Muskan Khatri
Roll. No. 87
Semester V, Section B

I
 CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY
This is to certify that Miss. Muskan Khatri, Roll Number 87, student of Semester V, Section
B of B.A.LL.B.(Hons.), Hidayatullah National Law University, New Raipur (Chhattisgarh)
has undergone research of the project work titled “ON-LINE GAMES AND ETHICAL
AND LEGAL CONCERNS: A JURISPRUDENTIAL ANALYSIS”, in partial fulfillment
of the subject of Jurisprudence. Her performance in research work is up to the level.

Place: Atal Nagar ………………………… ……………………………

Date: 3.09.2019 Dr.Kaumudhi Challa.

(Faculty- Jurisprudence)

Hidayatullah National Law University, Atal Nagar, Raipur

II
 ACKNOWLEDGMENT
I feel highly elated to work on the project “ON-LINE GAMES AND ETHICAL AND
LEGAL CONCERNS: A JURISPRUDENTIAL ANALYSIS”. The practical realization of
the project has obligated the assistance of many persons. Firstly, I express my deepest
gratitude towards Dr. Kaumudhi Challa, Faculty of Jurisprudence, to provide me with the
opportunity to work on this project. Her able guidance and supervision in terms of her
lectures were of extreme help in understanding and carrying out the nuances of this project.

I would also like to thank The University and the Vice Chancellor for providing extensive
database resources in the library and for the internet facilities provided by the University.

Some typography or printing errors might have crept in, which are deeply regretted. I would
be grateful to receive comments and suggestions to further improve this project.

Muskan Khatri
Roll. No. 87
Semester V, Section B

III
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Declaration of Originality I
Certificate of Originality II
Acknowledgments III

Chapter: 1
Introduction and Research Methodology 1
Problem of the Study 3
Rationale 3
Objective 3
Review of Literature 4
Hypothesis 6
Nature of the Study 6
Chapterization 7
Time Limit 7
Contribution 7
Limitation of the Study 7

Chapter: 2
Playing with ethics: online gaming ethical concern 8
Violence within games 8
Video game ratings 9
Education position 10
Stereotyping in gaming industry 10
Gaming addiction within community 11
Chapter: 3
Legal Concern Surrounding Online Gaming 12
Chapter: 4
Jurisprudential Analysis of Online Gaming 16
Conclusions 18
Bibliography 20
 CHAPTER I:

INTRODUCTION AND RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Online video game is defined as a video game played over some form of computer network.
This network is usually the internet or equivalent technology, but games have always used
whatever technology was current for example modems before the Internet, and hard wired
terminals before modems. Online gaming is also a technology rather than a genre that it is a
mechanism for connecting players together rather than a particular pattern of game play. 1
In this new era of technology, online gaming has become more popular among teenager as it
can be played whether on smart phone, tablet or computer. As it become accessible almost
anywhere at any time, all range of age are now possible to be addicted into playing online
video game which at the end of the day they become less care about themselves, their
performance at school or workplace and their social life. In addition to that, player can also
now access their game progress anywhere they went as most of the online gaming nowadays
enable player to store and save their data on cloud storage.
Several types of online gaming are massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs) and
massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPGs) which involves millions player
playing the game at the same time. Online game are now also come in many genre such as
action, adventure, simulator and many more. Some of the online gaming that are popular
among teenagers nowadays is Dota, Clash of Clan and Hay Day. The total of daily active
player in Dota 2 is 800, 000 concurrent users2 and almost 8.5 million users have registered in
Clash of Clan and also Hay Day combined. 3 There are actually several cases involve a teen
die while playing online game in China and as a result their government has built a facility
where parent can send their children to overcome online gaming addiction.4
Some claimed that playing online gaming is one way to release stress and fill your free time.
While some said that too much game can affect one's mind and attitude. For example, people

1
Rolling, Andrew; Adams, Ernest (2006) Fundamentals of Game Design.
http://wps.prenhall.com/bp_gamedev_1/54/14053/3597646.cw/index.html Prentice Hall
2
Hing, David (June 2, 2014). "DOTA 2 prize pool passes $8m". http://www.bit-
tech.net/news/gaming/2014/06/02/dota-2-prize-pool-passes-8m/1 Bit-tech.
3
Warner, Bernhard (May 2, 2013)."Finland's super cell mobile games with mega profits".
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-05-02/finlands-supercell-mobile-games-with-megaprofits
Bloomberg Business week.
4
Stewart, Christopher S. (13 January 2010)."Obsessed with the Internet: A Tale from China". Wired Magazine.

1
who play games are constantly feeling tired. When someone is more likely to spend more
time in playing online game, some of them may end up with being addicted to it. Friends and
surrounding environment plays a big part in influencing us towards playing online game as
the city with better internet connection and easy access to computer will make it easier for the
people to gain the access to online game.
In addition to that, some of the games developers today try to gain profit by create a system
where the players must use their real money to help them doing mission, gain specialty and
advantage in these games. In London recently, there was cases reported where the mother of
a 12-year-old boy is facing a £7,000 or RM36, 666 bills after he inadvertently spent the
money playing a popular online game on his phone.5 In Malaysia, more and more people are
now lead to spend money in online gaming as they can get debit card easier and some of the
young player tend to steal their parent money using their credit card.
The independent variable for this research is the age of the respondent, the gender, the course
they are taking and also the university they study. The age of the respondent is set from the
age of 18 until 24 years old. The resplendent will be those who are from Faculty of
Communication and Media, University Selangor. The dependent variable in this research will
be the environment that the respondent live by, their level of education, their financial status
and the time they spend on playing online video game.

5
Dean Rousewell (August 29, 2014). “Boy runs up £7,000 bill for his mum playing mobile phone game Clash
of Clans”. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/technology-science/technology/boy-runs-up-7000-bill-
4131364#ixzz3D4uGnu6Z Daily Mirror.

2
PROBLEM OF THE STUDY:
The internet is now possible to be accessed in throughout the world and it has opens up a
whole other world, the world that most of us spend hours and hours browsing whether weekly
or daily. Using internet, it gives us access to network that provide faster services such as
email, chat rooms, webs and also playing video game is now possible via online. From the
rapid growth of internet connection, there are some of the problems that exist and some of
them are:
• It became a phenomenon in our surrounding which people nowadays are too focusing with
their gadget playing online games rather than chatting with others.

• It can be either men or female students can be affected with the existence of online video
game.
• With the advance technology nowadays, people are getting easy to do anything such as
playing video game via online.

• To recognize the potential online video game addiction symptoms among the students based
on the data collected from the study.

• Online gaming is popular among teenager now days and people often get addicted when
playing online video game.

RATIONALE:
With this thesis I want to present the effects of on-line gaming on ethical and legal concern,
jurisprudentially.

OBJECTIVE:
1. To analyze the effects of online gaming ethically and legally.
2. The impact of online games on the jurisprudence.

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REVIEW OF LITERATURE:
Some of us may make a statement that addiction of playing video game is one of the modern-
day psychological disorders and some of us are disagree with that statement. Based on the
research done by the America Psychiatrist Association (APA) in May 2003 conclude that
addiction of playing video game is not mental disorder due to the insufficient evidence to
include it as an official mental disorder. While Internet Gaming Disorder is proposed as a
disorder, it is still discussed how much this disorder is caused by the gaming activity itself, or
whether it is to some extent an effect of other disorders. Research suggests that excessive
online gaming may in extreme cases lead to symptoms commonly experienced by substance
addicts, namely salience, mood modification, craving, and tolerance (Wolfling, Grusser and
Thalemann, 2008; Young, 2009; Hsu, Wen and Wu, 2009; Ko et al., 2009; Mehroof and
Griffiths, 2010).
Based on the study done by Chin-Sheng Wan, M.S. and Wen-Bin Chiou (2006),6 majority of
their respondent that is teenagers in Taiwan showed strong interests in role- playing of online
game, in which they often do things that they dare not to do in real life. This is believed due
to the fact that in an anonymous environment, online game players tend to use their nickname
rather than their real. In their paper, they also conclude that those who are addicted to the
Internet might attempt to escape from the limitations brought by real life in order to obtain
the space for survival and security.

In research done to understand the Generations Online in 2009 by Sydney Jones and
Susannah Fox (2009)7, they explained that generation Y is a young adults generally 18- 32
years old who grew up in the Information Age and they also be dubbed as the ‘Net
Generation’. But, while these “digital natives” may be savvier with their gadgets and more
keen on new uses of technology, their elders in Generation X, the Baby Boomers and older
generations tend to dominate internet use in other areas. In their research they claimed that
the most groups of age to use the internet for entertainment and for communicating with
friends and family is the teens and generation Y. From the survey they make, they conclude
that teen internet users’ favorite online activity is game playing which is 78% of 12- 17 year

6
Chin-Sheng Wan, M.S. , Wen-Bin Chiou. Why Are Adolescents Addicted to Online Gaming?
An Interview Study in Taiwan. Cyber Psychology & Behavior. Volume 9, Number 6, 2006. Mary Ann Liebert,
Inc.
7
J. Sydney, F. Susannah. Generations Online in 2009. Pew Internet & American Life Project. 2009. Pew
Research Center.

4
old internet users play games online, compared with 73% of online teens who email, the
second most popular activity for this age group.
In other study done by Eun Joo Kim, Kee Namkoong, Taeyun Ku and Se Joo Kim (2008) 8,
they want to investigate the connection between online game addiction and self-control,
aggression and narcissistic personality traits, which are known as the psychological
characteristics linked to “at-risk” populations for online game addiction. They find out that
that aggression and narcissistic personality traits are positively correlated with online game
addiction, whereas self-control is negatively correlated with online game addiction. In
addition, a multiple regression analysis revealed that the extent of online game addiction
could be predicted based on the person's narcissistic personality traits, aggression, self-
control, interpersonal relationship, and occupation.

The results indicate that people continue to play online games if they have optimal
experiences while playing the games. This optimal experience can be attained if the player
has effective personal interaction with the system or pleasant social interactions with other
people connected to the Internet. Personal interaction can be facilitated by providing
appropriate goals, operators and feedback; social interaction can be facilitated through
appropriate communication places and tools.
Some researchers claim that teenagers choose online gaming as a way or method to cope with
daily problem and stress9. Online gaming can also become a dysfunctional media-focused
coping strategy (Thalemann, 2009). It is reported that this is similar to how teenagers react
towards frustration and stresses (Wölfling, Thalemann, & Grüsser, 2008).

In United Kingdom, the research done by David Rudd (2011) 11stated that the addiction in
playing online game is believed to drive someone to extreme circumstances so much so that
from some evidence demonstrated parents tend to believe that their child is in a position
where their health and future is a worry. While the health could be an issue due to lack of
exercise but failing to adhere to education and lack of future job prospects has no strong solid
evidence to indicate this is a true thus have no findings about the matter.Using World of
Warcraft (WoW) as an example, David Rudd said that WoW is designed to gives a very vast
gaming experience but at the same time making sure the gamer has continuous content to

8
Eun Joo Kim, Kee Namkoong, Taeyun Ku, Se Joo Kim. The Relationship between Online Game Addiction
and Aggression, Self-Control and Narcissistic Personality Traits. European Psychiatry - April 2008 (Vol. 23,
Issue 3, Pages 212-218
9
Kuss, D. J., & Griffiths, M. D. (2012). Online Gaming Addiction In Children And Adolescents: A Review Of
Empirical Research. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 1(1), 3-22.

5
take part in to keep the gamer played their game. Lastly, from the aspect social of the game, it
is a very addictive part of the game with being able to always find a “guild” that is of similar
strength, ability and direction as the young person themselves so thus will keep the player
coming back to even chat to virtual friends within the game.

HYPOTHESIS:
As the world nowadays is developing with advanced technology, the old school thing was
forgotten by the new generation. There are several improper habits and behavior with this
development which the researcher finds in a study on online game towards the doer. The
study is to show how even an online video game can effects someone through various aspect.
Its purpose is to explore and identify the aspects concerning the jurisprudential impact on the
subject and it’s ethnicity and legality. The aspects explored are the experience and
commitment to playing online video game, the gamers health issues, the inconsistent
emotional reaction during playing online video games and reality versus fantasy realization
that is shown due to reduction of social interaction which eventually affect the gamers
relationship with others. The finding will help others to reduce their addiction towards the
online game and become a normal person. It also can be used to find the problem occurring
among online video game addiction and possibly creating a solution to overcome this
phenomenon whilst discovering new outcomes.

NATURE OF THE STUDY:

The nature of the study in this project is non-doctrinal and is primarily descriptive and
theoretical.

SOURCES OF THE STUDY:

This project is largely based on secondary sources of data such as cases and reports of Books,
case laws, journals & other reference as guided by faculty of Jurisprudence are primarily used
for the completion of this project.

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CHAPTERIZATION:
Chapter 1 deals with introduction of online gaming and its impact on humans. Chapter 2
deals with ethical issues concerning online games. Chapter 3 deals with legal prospects of
gaming in India online and last chapter analysis online gaming jurisprudentially.

TIME LIMIT:
It took the roughly 7 days to complete this project in its entirety.

CONTRIBUTION:
A lot of ink has been spilled with regard to a review or criticism regarding online gaming
around us. Also, a lot has been written regarding the concept of online gaming which
unfortunately is not discussed as much as it is leaving a strong impact on society. This study
is going to give a detailed research on this least discussed topic, as to how it is impacting
legally, ethically and jurisprudentially on humans of society.

LIMITATION OF THE STUDY:

This study is limited to the findings and research of players onto Indians only. There is no
comparative jurisprudential analysis with other countries around the world.

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 CHAPTER II:

PLAYING WITH ETHICS: ONLINE GAMING ETHICAL

CONCERN

Online games are widely played for entertainment and amusement; in addition, they can act
as an aid in relieving stress. Due to advancing technology, video games have evolved and
grown into a large empire impacting those within this realm. Thus many ethical issues are
brought to our attention due to this development. As a result, we should recognize how new
video games are ethically affecting people who play them. The ethical issues of video gaming
that influences many people include: violence, rating, education, stereotyping against women,
community and addiction. Ultimately, each topic is linked to violence involved in video
games. It is the players‟ responsibility to be aware of the negative effects of video gaming.
However, the gaming industry should also take part in some social responsibilities as well.
What they develop and sell can affect people positively or negatively. For this reason, both
the gamers and the gaming industry should acknowledge the ethical issues regarding video
gaming, and both need to address these ethical concerns accordingly. Although video games
can have many positives, they can also affect gamers in a harmful way.

VIOLENCE WITHIN GAMES

A major concern that has been the focus of an ongoing debate regarding video games is
violence. Violence is defined in video games as acts in which a character causes or attempts
to cause physical injury or death to another character.10 In a recent study, researchers at the
Indiana University School of Medicine using state-of-the-art brain-scanning technology,
determined, brain scans of individuals who played a violent video game showed an increase
in emotional arousal while decreasing self-control, inhibition, and attention. 11 Playing violent
video games can increase a person’s aggressive thoughts, feelings, and behavior both in
laboratory settings and in actual life. It can also be argued that violent video games may be

10
K. Thompson and K. Haninger, “Frequently Asked Questions about Violence in E-Rated Video Games.”
Journal of the American Medical Association, [Online Document], (2001 Aug), Available at: HTTP:
http://www.kidsrisk.harvard.edu/faqs3.htm.
11
K. Kalning, “Does game violence make teens aggressive?” MSNBC Interactive, [Online Document], (2006
Dec), Available at: HTTP: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16099971/.

8
more harmful than violent television and movies because of the interactive nature of the
games. For this reason, violent video games provide a foundation for learning and practicing
aggressive solutions to conflict situations. In the short run, playing a violent video game
appears to affect aggression by inducing aggressive thoughts for a short period. On the other
hand, prolonged aggressive behavior is likely to result as a long-term effect as well as the
player learns and practices new aggression-related techniques that can become more
accessible for use when real-life conflict situations arise.12

VIDEO GAME RATINGS:

In the United States, the current rating system for video games is the Entertainment Software
Rating Board (ESRB). The ESRB is a non-profit, self-regulatory body established in 1994 by
the Entertainment Software Association (ESA). ESRB independently assigns computer and
video game content ratings, enforces industry-adopted advertising guidelines and helps
ensure responsible online privacy practices for the interactive entertainment software
industry.13ESRB ratings have two equal parts: rating symbols suggest age appropriateness for
the game while content descriptors indicate elements in a game that may have triggered a
particular rating and/or may be of interest or concern.6 There are currently six ESRB rating
categories: Early Childhood (ages 3+), Everyone (ages 6+), Everyone 10+ (ages 10+), Teen
(ages 13+), Mature (ages 17+), and Adults Only (ages 18+). A particular area of interest
encompassing the issue of ratings for video games is the accuracy of the ratings, or lack
thereof. In one study, researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston took a
random sample of video games currently on the market and discovered many of the games
are inconsistent with the content descriptors assigned to the games.7 Based on their findings,
researchers said that an improvement is needed in the rating system and suggests the game
industry to provide individuals with clear, complete, and consistent information when
selecting a video game. Strict regulations are needed to be placed on the current rating system
to prevent inappropriate material from being obtained by the unintended.

12
P. Willenz, “Violent Video Games Can Increase Aggression.” American Psychological Association, [Online
Document], (2000 Apr), Available at: HTTP: http://www.apa.org/releases/videogames.html.
13
“ESRB Frequently Asked Questions.” Entertainment Software Review Board, [Online Document], (2006),
Available at: HTTP: http://www.esrb.org/ratings/faq.jsp.

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 EDUCATION POSITION

An issue that arises in an educational aspect is whether video games are ethical or not.
Gaming has taught both adults and kids many things; some are beneficial while others are
believed to be immoral. Some players and developers argue that video games are better at
teaching logic and problem solving skills than many school curriculums. 14While others say
that video games teach people to become more violent due to the violence in the game. There
are many different types of video games. Such as games for children, problem solving games,
combat games, adventure games, strategic games, and games intended for adults only. As
each individual interprets various games with their own judgments, there are certain types of
games where players agree they acquire the same type of skills. Just like rating for movies,
there are ratings for games as well. One of the main characteristics for the Entertainment
Software Review Board (ESRB) is to rate games based on the content involved in the game.
Ratings are designed so that buyers know what to expect before purchasing a particular game.
There are many levels of violence that can be used to rate a “violent” game. Games that
involve heavy violence are always rated “M” for mature.

STEREOTYPING IN THE GAMING INDUSTRY

Currently, video games appeal overwhelming to the male population. Only 7-8 percent of
video game developers are women.15 Likewise, about 12 % of the game players are women,
and women are usually not the main character in the games.16 In general, most women are not
fascinated with video games. Video games are not attractive to females as they are to males.
For majority of females there is nothing enticing about anchoring oneself in front of a
television screen and playing a video game that may be viewed as being “pointless.” This is
one of the main reasons why not many women have a profession in game designing or
developing, because this is not what most women enjoy.

15
“Unavoidable Ethical Questions About Video Gaming.” Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, [Online
Document], (2005 Nov), Available at: HTTP: http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/submitted/video-
games.html.
16
R. Araneta and S. Lovelace, “Current Issues, Current Regulations.” Santa Clara University, [Online
Document], (2006 May), Available at: HTTP: http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/submitted/educational-
games.html.

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The person is a man or woman and whether the person is in favor of video games or adverse
to it. Men who like to play video games might say there is nothing ethically wrong about
video games, while women may disagree and argue that video games corrupt the minds of the
players. One must determine whether the benefits gathered through video games outweigh
the costs of the game. The reason for stereotyping is due to the fact that most women aren’t
interested in video games. The assumption is men tend to be more violent than women, and
most video games contain some form of violence. Therefore, men are more likely to play
video games than women.

GAMING ADDICTION WITHIN THE COMMUNITY

Video games may be considered social activities because “A Kaiser Family Foundation
survey found nearly all the children they polled played video games with friends, siblings, or
other relatives.”17Game addiction is a form of psychological addiction related to a
compulsive use of computer and video games, most notably MMORPGs - open ended, online
video games known for their depth, breadth, and social interaction.” 18 People who are
addicted to video games usually crave playing the game and suffer from symptoms of
withdrawal when they stop playing. Most people enjoy playing video games because video
games provide entertainment. Others play to relieve stress, or even in some cases, play to let
out the violence anxiety within them. However, video game addiction is very real and
serious; it can negatively affect lives in a similar manner that drug addiction does. Moreover,
violent video game addiction has potential to create social problems in our community. If
someone cannot accomplish their daily tasks because of video games, then there is no doubt
that he or she has to recognize the problem.

17
M. Schulman, “Playing Games with Regulation.” Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, [Online Document],
(2005 Dec), Available at: HTTP: http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/ethicalperspectives/video-game-
regulation.html
18
“Video Game Addiction Support Community.” DailyStrength, Inc. [Online Document], (2007), Available at:
HTTP: http://dailystrength.org/support/Addiction_Recovery/Video_Game_ Addiction/

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 CHAPTER: 3

LEGAL ISSUES SURROUNDING ON-LINE GAMING

Gaming with stakes falls within the purview of gambling because the act of ‘wagering’ or
‘betting’ is considered gambling (with some prescribed exceptions, if at all). The Constitution
of India entrusts the state legislatures with the power to frame state-specific laws on ‘betting
and gambling’.19 While some states have adopted the central statute20 on the subject, most of
the states have codified their own law. As the emergence of online gaming succeeded the
enactment of gambling laws, most of the Indian gambling laws primarily deal with gaming at
physical premises. Therefore, when gambling laws are read in the context of online gaming,
complex legal issues arise. Some states have expressly excluded certain games from the
purview of gambling or have legalised playing certain games after obtaining a license. For
instance, West Bengal’s gambling laws21expressly exclude ‘games of cards like Bridge,
Poker, Rummy or Nap’ from the definition of ‘gaming or gambling’. 22 However, they require
obtaining of a permit from the Commissioner of Police in Calcutta or the District Magistrate
to play a game of skill. 23 This could be interpreted to say that playing of rummy and poker
requires obtaining a license. Similarly, the Goa, Daman and Diu Public Gambling Act, 1976,
was amended in 1996 to allow playing of certain table and board games on off-shore vessels
upon obtaining an authorisation from the Government and payment of a fee. 24

After going through the State gambling laws, it is found that, except the State of Orissa and
Assam, most of the States have excluded ‘games of skill’ from applicability of its respective
gaming/gambling laws. Further, playing certain games including ‘Poker’, both online and
offline, is permitted under the laws of West Bengal, Nagaland and Sikkim subject to licence
from the appropriate State Authorities. But this would be applicable only in the territorial
limits of the respective State. In Goa, gambling is permitted only in Government permitted
places operated as casinos.

19
Constitution of India, Seventh Schedule, List II, Entry No. 34
20
The Public Gaming Act, 1867
21
The West Bengal Gambling & Prize Competition Act, 1957
22
Section 2(b) of The West Bengal Gambling & Prize Competition Act, 1957
23
Section 12 of The West Bengal Gambling & Prize Competition Act, 1957
24
Section 13A of The Goa, Daman and Diu Public Gambling Act, 1976

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The issue of online gambling still remains a grey area which is yet to be adjudicated by
Courts of India. Having said that, necessary inferences can be drawn from orders passed by
the Court while deciding the issue of whether a particular game is a ‘game of skill’ or a
‘game of chance’. But the issue of whether a ‘game of chance’, if played like a sport without
stakes amount to gambling or not? still remains largely undecided.

Game Of Skill V. Game Of Chance:

There has been a substantial discussion by Supreme Court and High Court on what
constitutes a ‘game of skill’ and a ‘game of chance’. What is adduced from the judgments is
that a game where there is preponderance of skill over chance is a ‘game of skill’ and vice-
versa. By taking the above ratio into account, SC in the matter of State of
AP v. K.Satyanarayana (1968) held the game of Rummy to be a ‘game of skill’.
However, the Court in its judgment has indicated that if there is gambling or if the gambling
house is making profit from the game of rummy, then it could amount to an offense under the
laws of AP. It was further observed by SC that the three card game which goes under
different names such as flush, brag, etc. is a game of pure chance. This was relied upon by SC
in another its other judgments viz. M.J.Sivani v. State of Karnataka (1995) and Dr.
K.R. Lakshmanan v. State Of Tamil Nadu And Anr (1996). The issue of
whether rummy if played with stakes amounts to gambling or not has not been decided by
Supreme Court. However, Andra Pradesh High Court in D. Krishna Kumar And Anr. v.
State Of A.P.(2002) relying upon the SC decision of 1968 held that till such time the state
gambling Act is amended to lay down that playing Rummy with stakes is "gaming", playing
Rummy with stakes is not 'gaming' within the meaning of the Act and is therefore allowed.

Delhi District Court: Gaussian Network Pvt. Ltd. V. Monica Lakhanpal

The issue of Online Gaming/gambling was discussed in detailed in the above case when the
issue was put up before the Court under Order 36 Rule(1) of CPC by the parties. The Court
held the following:

Game of skills, if played with stakes does not amount to gambling; Playing games of skill for
money is only legal in the real form, online games cannot be compared to real games;
Attracting business or enticing players by alluring them with prize money is illegal; Gaming
sites partaking a slice on the winning hand are illegal as they amount to a virtual gambling

13
house. Having said that ruling was rendered in fructuous as during the final arguments in the
Revision petition, parties sought to withdraw the petition.So the effect being there is no ruling
which can be treated as a precedent as regards online gambling.

Gujarat High Court on Poker:

The issue whether Poker is a ‘game of skill’ or a ‘game of chance’ was never discussed in
detail by any Court in India until the recent decision/order dated December 4, 2017 passed by
Gujrat High Court in Dominance Games Pvt. Ltd. V. State of Gujarat, wherein, the said
issue was extensively pondered upon. The Court in its said decision held that Poker is a
‘game of chance’ and therefore amounts to gambling under Gujarat Prevention of Gambling
Act, 1887. While arriving at the aforesaid decision, the Court inter alia observed the
following:

That the game of poker originated from ‘flush’ or ‘Indian teenpatti’ which has been observed
by SC as a game of chance in its 1968 judgment and consequently, as a corollary, the game of
poker is also to be construed as a game of chance; The game of poker involves a process
wherein the players have no control or say on the cards received by them and the final
outcome is based on mere luck or chance depending upon how the cards are received by the
player. Poker face to bet, would be a part of bluffing or deception and the so-called strategy,
cannot be considered as a skill. The outcome also depends on the ability of a player to spend
money and how deep are his pockets. It is a game of deceiving, bluffing and duping other
players;The game of Rummy is different than Poker. While poker involves betting or
wagering, rummy has nothing to do with stakes and betting or wagering is not essential to the
game of rummy; The Court while noting the ills of gambling and impact of gambling on the
moral fibre of society noted that ‘one must not overlook the ground realities in India or the
country like India, where the majority of the population is struggling for the basic necessity
and there is lack of awareness amongst the people and if they are permitted by betting in the
craze of easy money, they do not know what to do if the things go wrong.”

Mr. K.N Suresh, Secretary of Indian Poker Association has filed an appeal against the said
order, being Letters Patent Appeal No. 2625 of 2017 before the Division Bench of Gujarat
High Court. The bench after hearing the matter briefly on December 28, 2017 issued notice to
the state government and other respondents, and till date the matter is not heard finally.

14
Having said that, since no ad-interim/interim reliefs are granted presently, the Single Judge
order stands valid and enforceable.

Though the order does not specifically make any observation on Poker, if played as a sport
and/or without stakes, however, while differentiating between rummy and poker, the Hon’ble
Court at Para 60 of the said order makes a presumption that wagering or betting is an
inseparable part of the game of poker and therefore would involve stake. The Court while
holding Poker to be a ‘game of chance’ has also predominantly relied upon moral religious
and social grounds. In the absence of the said order being overruled and the issue being
addressed specifically, the game of poker, even if played as a sport and/or without stakes
remains a grey area which is then left at the discretion of police authorities.

POSITION:
Though the issue of Poker was considered by Gujarat High Court in view of the provisions of
Gujarat Prevention of Gambling Act, 1887, in arriving at the decision of Poker being a ‘game
of chance’, the court made several observations like how the game is played, origin of the
game, reference to ancient Indian literature, moral and religious grounds, etc. which may be
applied by other states/state machinery having similar gambling laws. The issue is likely to
be clarified by Division Bench of Gujarat High Court, once the appeal is finally heard. In
view of the above, it is clear that if a game is considered to be a ‘game of chance’ under the
state laws and rulings by the Courts and is played with stakes, would constitute gambling
under the respective state laws with exception pertaining to a few states as mentioned above.
If an entity is able to show that a particular online game or a particular on-ground gaming
activity has preponderance of skill over chance and/or is played as a sport without stakes, it
may fall within the exception of gaming/gambling under the state gambling laws. It is
pertinent to note however that if online gaming is illegal in any State, the promotion of the
same in such State would amount to violation of ASCI Code as well as Cable TV Network
Regulation Act, 1994.

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 CHAPTER: 4

JURISPRUDENTIAL ANALYSIS OF ONLINE GAMING

Casinos in India are regulated by gambling legislation. Laws of Goa, Daman & Diu and
Sikkim allow gambling to a limited extent, under a license granted by the State Government
in five-star hotels. In Goa, the regulations also permit casinos on board an offshore vessel.
Lotteries have been expressly excluded from the purview of these legislations and are
governed by the central law, Lotteries (Regulation) Act, 1998 under which the Lottery
(Regulation) Rules 2010 and other specific rules have been framed for the State Government
to be adopted by them in policy formulation. With the dawn of technology, these games have
effectively extended their audience and popularity via the virtual medium. While carving out
betting on horse racing from the purview of ‘gambling’ as a game of skill, most legislations
provide certain conditions that are required to be met as a prerequisite. With the rise of
automation and technology, online gaming has seen unparalleled growth. According to the
American Gaming Association Report, there are nearly 3000 internet gambling sites in the
USA alone, offering to wager on sports, casino games, poker, bingo, lottery, and other games.
A recent study by KPMG India and Google, suggests that the Indian online gaming industry
is set to become $1 billion industry by 2021. 25 The rise of technology has 5 major trends
which need to be capsulated by legislations to regulate the technological advancements –
virtual reality, augmented reality, artificial intelligence, modular technology and cloud-based
architecture. These modern improvements have been used to revamp and redesign the
‘instruments of gaming’. According to existing legislations, “Instruments of gaming” means
‘any article used or intended to be used as a subject or means of gaming, any document used
or intended to be used as a register or record or evidence of any gaming, the proceeds of any
gaming, and any winnings or prizes in money or otherwise distributed or intended to be
distributed in respect to any gaming.’ According to modern jurisprudential schools, there is a
school of thought that conjectures that computer terminals used for gambling and servers on
which gambling takes place and related e-records that are preserved also represent
“instruments of gaming”. India is operating towards improved age and gender parity among
online gamers, with the number of bets placed on mobile devices, is accounted to have hit

25
Online Gaming in India: Reaching a New Pinnacle, A Study by KPMG in India and Google, available at –
https://assets.kpmg. com/content/dam/kpmg/in/pdf/2017/05/online-gaming.pdf.

16
$100bn, with 164 million people using telecom devices to visit a mobile and online casino to
place a bet or purchase a lottery ticket.26 It can be estimated that the mobile gambling
industry is set to take 40% of the total online gambling market. The advent of India’s online
gaming industry can be dated back to 2000s when console and PC gaming brought middle-
income group Indians on digital gaming platforms. During the mid-2000s, online gaming
comprised of most social games. 27 As compared to 31 percent in 2018, penetration of internet
is expected to reach 53 percent of the population by 2021. Smartphone users are projected to
be 470 million by 2021 with the rise of internet penetration. 28 Availability of affordable smart
phones with the availability of data is expected to prompt a shift from the current feature
phone users to smart phones. The surge in volumes of mobile internet users is likely to be
complemented by five times rise in data consumption and 1.6 times increase in disposable
income of our country. The virtual gaming market is expected to be fuelled with a young
population, high internet volumes, engaged online users and improved paying propensity by
2021.29 With a background of such developments, the industry is expected to gain momentum
and reach a market value of USD one billion and 310 million online gamers by 2021. 30This
growth is further strengthened by the comprehensive rise in digital payment user base, the
launch of new innovations at affordable rates and focus on the development of content with
local themes, Indian languages and global standards. 31 The need for introducing an all-
inclusive legislation to accommodate these changes has to be done on both national as well as
state level by involving all the stakeholders in policymaking.

26
How Technology Has Influenced the Gambling and Casino Industry, available at:
https://www.imageholders.com/insights/blog/post/how-technology-has-influenced-the-gambling-and-casino-
industry
27
Online gaming in India: Reaching a new pinnacle: A study by KPMG
28
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2015)
29
Ericsson Mobility Report, Ericsson, June 2016
30
Ministry of statistics and programme implementation (MOSPI), Trading Economics, available at:
www.tradingeconomics.com
31
Indian Languages – Defining India’s Internet, A KPMG in India-Google report, April 2017

17
 CONCLUSION

The countless hours gamers put into compelling games such as World of Warcraft can never
be returned to the player. One might ask whether or not it’s the gamers own fault they waste
so much time on tasks they didn’t want to do. The harsh reality of the matter is that in the
end, it’s the gamers own choices that lead them to use this excess time. But the truth of the
matter is that we as humans are very receptive to operant conditioning. So much that even its
father B.F. Skinner wondered whether or not we have a free will as such at all – maybe we all
behave in a certain way just because we were trained to do it since childhood? When it’s
come to popular online titles such as WoW the player base has certainly been trained to find
it enjoying. So can the intelligence of the gamer be questioned? Certainly to some degree.
Important to remember, though, is that these games have compulsive elements in them found
in gambling as well. People can argue that those compelled by gambling are unintelligent:
why even start doing something you know can become compelling to the extent that it ruins
your economy or social network entirely? Note, that gamblers are warned. Here’s a key
difference: gamers are not. In fact, most gamers hooked on online games seem to be adamant
they’re not “addicted”, they just “like the game”.
It is much rarer for gamers to think of themselves as addicted, although, looking back, they
may feel they spent too much time playing games … Most gamers are relaxed about the
time they spend playing; to be ‘addicted’ is clearly a badge of honour for some. (Cragg &
al. 2010. P. 67)
Because humans are easily manipulated the game developers have a moral obligation to do
what can be seen as ethical to most. Just because they want to do certain things in the game
for fun doesn’t mean they should have to endure constant manipulation. As the technology
become more advanced day by day, the Internet more accessible to a variety of age groups.
No doubt that there are many children nowadays have to know what it is internet and how to
use it. Based on the research, to gain exposure on the internet is at the age of 6-20 years,
while there is some of the students being exposed on the Internet at the earliest age which is
at age before 6 years old and some was exposed to the internet after reaching the age of 21
years old. Health is one of the important things that we need to take serious in any activity we
do.

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Many of them claimed that they have friends that they regard to be addicted to gaming and
this show that how serious is the effect of online gaming to the students. The respondents also
stated that they will have greater tendency to play online video game when they have a lot of
friends playing that particular game. As a result, this shows that how friends influence can
influence our life in a good way and also bad way. The conclusion that can be makes is that
there some positive affects in playing online video games rather than all of the view is on the
negative side. Depend on the respondent how to operate the games in positive or negative
side.

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gambling-industry-in-india/
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money-are-illegal-online-vs-physical-gaming/

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