Regulations for online gaming to be based on panel report: Parameshwara tells Karnataka Assembly

Bengaluru: Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara told the Assembly on Tuesday that the government would decide on regulating the online gaming sector based on the recommendations of a committee headed by IPS officer Pranab Mohanty.

Mohanty’s committee, set up in April this year, is expected to submit its report in September, Parameshwara said in response to a question by BJP's S Suresh Kumar.

“I held a meeting with online gaming companies and sought their cooperation for regulating the sector keeping the health of the society in mind. They have agreed,” Parameshwara said.

Parameshwara acknowledged concerns over online games, especially youngsters getting addicted. "Online games were more dangerous than drugs," he said.

In 2021, the previous BJP government amended the Karnataka Police Act to prohibit online games. This was struck down by the High Court in 2022. The government has challenged this before the Supreme Court.

Parameshwara said the “comprehensive” amendments were challenged by the All India Gaming Federation. "We need to define games of skill and chance, whose need wasn't anticipated when the law was amended," he said.

Kumar pulled up the government for not doing enough in the Supreme Court. “It’s been three years. Why hasn’t the government made sure that the SC stay is vacated?” he said. “We don’t need another country to destroy us. These games are enough,” he said.

Pointing out that online gaming companies were aggressively enticing people, Kumar said: “I've received a message that my wallet has been credited with Rs 1.62 lakh and I can play rummy. How many people have the capacity to resist the temptation? The likes of (cricketer) Harbhajan Singh are endorsing such games.”

Former deputy chief minister CN Ashwath Narayan said the government should not allow betting in games of skill.

To this, IT/BT Minister Priyank Kharge pointed out that even fantasy sports were put under the 'skill game' category by the court. "The union and state government must work together on a law. There's a 28% GST on online gaming. So, games are being hosted on foreign servers in eastern Europe, South America or China. This makes it difficult for us to take action if there's fraud," he said.

According to Priyank, the online gaming business will go from $4.5 billion to $9 billion in three years. "There are 519 million gamers in India. Of them, 140 million are paid gamers," he said.

Since 2023, the police have registered 347 cases of online betting in the state. There were 84 cases in 2023, 104 in 2024 and 159 until July 31 this year. The Ballari district has seen the highest number of cases at 73.