Karnataka government moves SC, wants to ban online gaming

The Karnataka government on Tuesday moved the Supreme Court against its state High Court’s decision that quashed a ban imposed on online gaming in the state. Stating that cyber crime had reached epic proportions as 28,000 cases were filed in the last three years, the state government told the apex court that a law against online gaming is needed to maintain public order. Several people have committed suicide and families have been ruined due to online gaming, it said. “Therefore, the Karnataka Police (Amendment) Act, 2021, which made criminalising wagering, betting or risking money on the unknown result of an event was specifically required to be suitably deal with the evolving situation arising from the ill-effects of online gambling,” it stated in its appeal.

The HC grossly erred in not taking into account the material produced by the state government with regard to cases registered by the police authorities, the manner in which various websites were misleading and exploiting the general public to part with huge money, etc, the petition added.

The HC gravely failed to notice the fact that betting or wagering on horse-racing conducted only on the race track shall be permissible under the Karnataka Act, wherein the interference by authorities would effectively regulate the same, unlike the situation in online platforms, according to the Karnataka government.