The passing of the new AP Gaming Bill has caused controversy with many coming forward to classify it as a major setback. While the bill was passed by explaining the need for amending the Andhra Pradesh Gaming Act-1974, people are concerned about the very need and the reason to go against online gambling. With the inclusion of the bill, more than 100 sites are set to be banned and thus, the activity of online gambling has received a huge blow. So was there a real need for this law to be passed or will it actually benefit anyone?
Introduction
By replacing the ordinance promulgated in September 2020, the Andhra Pradesh government finally passed its AP Gaming Bill. Now what the law aims to achieve is to place a complete ban on online gaming, although the YSR Congress government claims it was to control the youth from getting involved in vices like gambling and betting. Since the definition of gaming includes online games and essentially, gambling, there is a new trend where governments are looking to prevent people from placing bets.
So is it wrong to place bets and get involved in activities like gambling? While the obvious answer would be a clear no, the law of the land is what we need to follow. Activities like gambling and betting have always been banned by the law and getting involved in the same would be an offence. However, the law includes a few loopholes and thus, fails to cover online games played for money and the main differentiation between games of skill and chance. Due to that, online gaming operators were present in India and gambling sites could operate with ease.
The Effect of the Gaming Bill
Gaming sites being able to operate with ease was a story of the past, at least in the state of Andhra Pradesh. The new law prevents people from exploring the world of online gambling and thus, destroys the meaning of Limited Government. The state is now informing citizens which games are good for them and which need to be avoided. With this form of leadership coming into the mix, everyone’s liberty and the freedom to explore a particular content goes out the window.
While gambling and betting come with their amount of financial risk, it is the ones who play that get to decide whether or not to proceed forward. In the age of responsible gaming, everyone should look towards helping people understand the activity with ease rather than placing a ban on it. And by placing a ban, sites like Betway Casino india and various other gambling websites would be ineffective. Moreover, the ban also takes away games of skill which is a huge blow to the protection they were previously offered by the government.
The Unfortunate Turn of Events
With the passing of the new gaming law, it is safe to say that games of skill have been affected. The Andhra Pradesh government has completely ignored the binding precedents of the Supreme Court of India and the High Court of AP by also merging games of skill into their blanket ban on gambling. Since gaming is more than just an activity for entertainment, especially with people earning their livelihood with the same, it is unfair to be controlled in a democracy.
The common notion that a human is responsible for their own welfare and decision-making does not fit into the ban and is thus ignored. These are not the qualities of a free and liberal society and the YSR Congress government in Andhra Pradesh needs to understand that. A government should not be placing their paternalism on people and inform them about what should be followed and what shouldn’t be followed.
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