A task force working to curb online gambling in Madhya Pradesh recently held its first meeting at Mantralay last Thursday. The task force was headed by the Additional Chief Secretary of the Home Department and prepared the draft to bring online gambling under the Gambling Act during the meeting.

According to Freepressjournal, the state government is planning to bring a Public Gambling Act to stop online gambling, provisions for which were included in the draft made during the meeting.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had already pressed on the matter and decided to enact a new Madhya Pradesh Gambling Act, 2023, recently that will contain proper provisions regarding online gambling.

The plans for the new Gambling Act was being discussed for the last few months and are supposed to have proper measures and punishment for violators.

Provisions to give the government power to put a stop to online gambling were also suggested to be included in the legislation, along with a thorough discussion on offshore gambling websites and ways to stop them.

The task force will finalise the report keeping the discussion points in mind, along with how the other states have also implemented the gambling act and the complications they are facing currently. The report will then be sent to the Chief Minister on May 15.

Currently, the task force is made up of the Principal Secretary, director of public prosecution, secretary, ADG and managing director of State Electronics Development Corporation.

The most recent ban on online gambling was done by Tamil Nadu, where the government banned all online games that have stakes regardless of the game being categorized as a game of skill or chance.