New Proposed Draft Rules : The self-regulatory body will have a board of directors with five members

from diverse fields, including online gaming, public policy, IT, psychology and medicine. It must ensure
that the registered games don’t have anything which is not in the interest of sovereignty and integrity of
India, defence of India, security of the state, friendly relations with foreign states or public order, or
incites the commission of any cognizable offence relating to the aforesaid.
There could be more than one self regulatory body and all of them will have to inform the Centre about
the games they have registered along with a report detailing the criteria for registering.
Like an intermediary, online gaming firms will be required to undertake additional due diligence,
including KYC of users, transparent withdrawal and refund of money, and a fair distribution of winnings.
For KYC, they will have to follow norms laid down for entities regulated by the Reserve Bank of India
(RBI).
“the online gaming intermediary shall, at the time of commencement of a user account based relationship
for an online game, identify the user and verify his identity: Provided that the procedure for such
identification and verification shall, mutatis mutandis, be the procedure required to be followed by an
entity regulated by the Reserve Bank of India under directions issued by it for identification and
verification of a customer at the commencement of an account-based relationship”
(https://www.meity.gov.in/writereaddata/files/Draft%20notification%20for%20amendment%20to%20IT
%20Rules%202021%20for%20Online%20Gaming.pdf)

Case Laws:

State of Andhra Pradesh V. Satyanarayana

Supreme Court held that the game of rummy was a game of skill on the ground that unlike “three cards”,
“flush” which are entirely based on chance, considerable skill is required for a game of rummy to hold
and discard the cards.

Lakshmanan, the Supreme Court, 

Referring to the cases of State of Bombay vs R.M.D.  Chamarbaugwala and Satyanarayana case stated
that games, where success depends on the element of skill, are not gambling even if there is the presence
of an element of chance. Although the element of chance cannot be ruled out, success in a game of skill
depends upon the knowledge, experience and attention of the player.
 Varun Gumber v. U.T., Chandigarh(“Varun Gumber”),

The High Court of Punjab & Haryana, in the case found that playing of fantasy sports games involves
exercise of considerable skill, judgment and discretion because the participant has to assess the relative
worth of each athlete based on their strengths and weaknesses at the time of drafting players. It is this
assessment which finally determines the success or failure of fantasy sports games. Hence, the element of
skill predominantly affects the outcome of matches. A challenge filed against the said order was
dismissed by the Supreme Court on September 15, 2017.

Gurdeep Singh Sachar v. Union of India (“Gurdeep Singh”)

The High Court of Bombay, in the case saw no reason to take a view different from that taken by the
High Court of Punjab and Haryana in the Varun Gumber case. The Court also observed that, unlike
betting, winning or losing in fantasy sports was not dependent on any team winning or losing in the real
world. The Union of India, the State of Maharashtra, Gurdeep Singh Sachar and Varun Gumber filed
proceedings before the Supreme Court against this decision.

*** The challenge filed by Varun Gumber was dismissed by the Supreme Court. The challenges filed by
Gurdeep Singh Sachar and Union of India were also jointly dismissed by the Supreme Court. The High
Court of Rajasthan, in the case of Chandresh Sankhla v. State of Rajasthan, relied on the decisions of the
High Court of Punjab & Haryana and Bombay, as well as, the dismissal of challenges against these
decisions by the Supreme Court, to hold that the issue of the legitimacy of fantasy sports is no longer
open for debate. No appeal was filed against this decision.