Skill-Based Real Money Gaming Is Not Gambling

We Indians have a long history of engaging in numerous indoor sports as well as gambling. From a cultural and sentimental standpoint, gambling has often been viewed as a vice and labelled as an unethical or immoral act in Indian society — and rightly so, as studies all over the world have shown that gambling, especially when done repeatedly and/or desperately, can lead to a slew of individual behaviour as well as societal problems ranging from addiction to financial ruin.

Gaming, on the other hand, has been widely demonstrated to be a positive and enabling skill that is not only enjoyable but also stimulates creativity and develops social relationships.

The digital route

Both gambling and gaming have increasingly gone the ‘online' or ‘digital' route in recent years, and they are also converging in many ways. However, there is a fundamental conundrum linked with the growing spillover effects in the gaming and gambling arenas: consumers are unable to distinguish skill-based real money online gaming from gambling.

As a result, they have begun to use the terms — gaming and gambling — interchangeably, which is quite problematic! Unfortunately, many industry pundits are now saying that all types of real money based games should be outright banned, simply because they have some similarities with online gambling!

Separating the wheat from the chaff

Equating skill-based real money gaming with gambling, in my opinion, is akin to saying apples and oranges are the same! It's illogical. But why am I saying this? First and foremost, in skill gaming, the most important factor that any gamer would want to master would be the skill, strategies, and in-depth knowledge of the specific game he/she is playing — because, at the end of the day, to win or perform optimally, skill and competence are clearly what will matter the most.

However, in any type of online gambling, the most important factor in winning money is luck or probability (counting on the odds) — which means that even if you are skilled, it does not guarantee your success in gambling.

Second, the motivation of gamers — whether amateur or professional — is to play a game or enter a gaming tournament for the fun, relaxation, and/or social aspect of it, rather than for the sole purpose of earning money. The gaming industry thrives on a high level of passion, engagement, and vibrancy.

Get-rich-quick

On the other hand, one would usually go to gambling sites or apps to satisfy the desire (or greed) to get-rich-quick and earn more and more money, and he/she would also be required (in most cases) to deposit a certain amount before being allowed to start gambling.

In India, monetary stakes (wagers) are typically placed on online card games such as Rummy, Poker, Teen Patti, and Fantasy games such as Fantasy Cricket and Fantasy Soccer — though this does not necessarily imply that playing or participating in these real money-based games qualifies one as a gambler!

We must understand the distinction between ‘games of chance' and ‘games of skill,' given the current situation in India, where betting money on a game of chance is illegal in most states, but wagering on a game of skill is legal in many places (or at least can be legally defended in a court of law).

A 'game of skill' is one in which a player's success is determined by how efficiently he or she plays the game and how much he or she is able to put his or her skills to use. Whereas in most 'games of chance,' the gameplay and even the winners are determined at random, either manually or through technology (perhaps through an algorithm or a specific programming), the winning and the prize has a lot to do with a player's luck.

The Rajasthan High Court ruled in the Ravindra Singh Chaudhary vs. Union of India case in 2019 that Fantasy Sports did not constitute gambling because its players would need skills similar to those of a real sports team manager.

The Tamil Nadu High Court recently overturned the state's ban on online card games such as Rummy and Poker. These are welcome developments in terms of distinguishing between "games of chance" and "games of skill," and they will go a long way toward promoting a positive narrative in favour of gaming over gambling.

In conclusion

According to an EY-All India Gaming Federation research, India's real money online gaming market is one of the fastest-growing, with revenues expected to exceed $2 billion by 2023. Given the enormous potential that skill-based games hold for the future, particularly in terms of enabling massive economic growth and furthering ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat' in the long term, it is past time for India to develop a clear, specific, and effective policy on this front in order to maintain the growth momentum of the skill gaming industry.

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