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Haryana and Andhra Pradesh states are fast becoming bases for regulated real-money gaming in India after the former moved to legalise land-based and online skill gaming with stakes and the latter proposed codifying lotteries and online skill games.
Substantial legal shifts look set to usher Haryana (population 30m) and Andhra Pradesh (53m) into the growing group of Indian jurisdictions with progressive stances on skill gaming, including in the online space.
The Haryana government on Tuesday (March 18) introduced the Prevention of Public Gaming Bill 2025, a milestone document that would repeal Haryana's application of a national gambling law dating to near the advent of the British colonial era 158 years ago.
Most of the northern state’s bill is focused on updating the law to the internet and smartphone era, and aggressively lengthens prison sentences for gambling, organising gambling and match fixing.
However, the draft law precludes “games of skill” from the definitions of gaming and gambling, and appears to empower the government to identify skill games in lieu of a list in the draft law.
The bulk of the draft goes in hard on chance gaming with stakes, confirming up to a year in prison and heavy fines for basic gambling offences, but extending the definition of a “common gambling house” to “any computer network” used for gambling.
Repeat offenders would be treated harshly with a heavier fine and a mandatory prison term of one to three years.
Similarly tough prison sentences and fines apply for running a “common gambling house” or operating a gambling syndicate, including via the internet or telephony in both cases, with a minimum three years to five years, or five to seven years for repeat offenders.
Match fixers and spot fixers would face the same jail terms and fines as gambling house or gambling syndicate operators, according to the draft.
The draft also swings the burden of proof in gambling cases from prosecutors to defendants if the latter are caught in gambling houses under any circumstances. These defendants would have to prove that they were not gambling or face the same punishments.
Also notable is a provision for trial witnesses to be indemnified if they testify against fellow gamblers.
In southeastern Andhra Pradesh, the state government’s finance department has circulated proposals arguing for the legalisation of state lotteries and online skill gaming with stakes as part of a wider tax revenue drive.
A government official said Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu will make a decision on the matter “very soon” after other departments have responded to the circular, the Hindu daily reported on Monday.
“Multiple approaches are being explored to generate revenue from these segments,” the official said.
The latest state government initiatives dovetail with critical gaming cases before the Supreme Court of India on the applicability and size of a goods and services tax, as well as the legality of online skill gaming with stakes.
Meanwhile, police in the Telangana state capital of Hyderabad have announced the prosecution of 36 actors, social media influencers and other celebrities for endorsing online betting platforms.
The cases have come in two waves, with police in the districts of Panjagutta and central Hyderabad naming 11 and 25 individuals last week and this week, respectively.
The prosecutions follow months of warnings by central and state governments directed at celebrity promotions of illegal gambling after years of near impunity for the lucrative practice.
They also follow the decision of the online gaming industry's peak bodies for skill gaming, e-sports and fantasy sports to join forces with the national Advertising Standards Council to identify and disrupt illegal gambling advertising.
