Open Access Research Article
USE OF ONLINE PLATFORM FOR ILLEGAL SELLING AND GAMBLING
Published Paper
Article Details
USE OF
ONLINE PLATFORM FOR ILLEGAL SELLING AND GAMBLING
AUTHORED BY
- MS. ANANYA GOYAL &
DR. JYOTI DHARM
ABSTRACT
Due to advancement
in technology, there is increase in cyber crimes. In one way or another, every
person is affected by these cyber crimes. One of such cyber crime is illegal
selling and gambling through the use of cyber space. This research paper deals
with how does selling and gambling work in cyber space, effects of this in the
society, what are the current legal provisions related to illegal selling and
gambling and the need of comprehensive law to stop online gamble and illegal
selling.
KEYWORDS
Cyber crimes, online illegal selling,
online gambling, online world
INTRODUCTION
Cyber crimes have been increased in a
large number because of advancement in technology and the increase in use of
the mobile phone by the society. As the technology advances, the use of phone
and computers become very easy. These electronic gadgets reduce the workload of
people and make the work very easier and faster. But as people increase the use
of these technologies, they, sometimes, are unaware about the hazardous use or
illegal use of these technologies by criminals which are mastermind in the use
of internet for their own benefit. Therefore, being unaware about the various
illegal activities in internet, they become the victim of cyber crime. One of
such crime which is done using the virtual world is illegal selling and
gambling. Illegal gambling can be defined as the gambling which is done in the
virtual world using the internet. Online gambling has been discussed in detail
in the various sub-heads as follows.
WHAT IS
CYBER CRIME
Cyber crime or online crime can be
defined as a crime which is committed in online world. It means the crime which
is done using internet, computer, laptop, etc. Cyber crime not only targets the
individual or organization, but also may threaten an entire nation’s security.
Cyber crimes are not only limited to the crimes which are done using internet
or mobile, rather it includes many more related to technology. People who
commit cyber crimes are referred to as the cyber criminals. Cyber criminals use
various means to get our sensitive information and then use it in a manner
which is detrimental to the owner to that data. Some of the common example of
the cyber crimes can be identity theft, hacking the government’s sites,
demanding the money for not leaking the user’s sensitive information, or
attacking or installing virus on the person’s computer.
Some of the crimes which are related
to the specific individuals are identity theft, cyber crime frauds, phishing,
spamming, cyber stalking, etc.
Some of the property related cyber
crimes can be defined as copyright infringement, using virus to attack on
computers, etc.
Various cyber attacks on the
government can be hacking into the government sites, spreading false information
on the internet to destroy the peace and harmony in the society, cyber
terrorism, etc. It is very difficult to find out the cyber criminals as they
use advanced technology and do not have any physical traces as the crime did
not happen in the real world, rather in the virtual world. Given below are the
various cyber crimes which are explained in detail.
VARIOUS
TYPES OF CYBER CRIME
Some of the cyber crimes which are
very commonly seen in today’s world are as follows:
CYBER CRIMES RELATED TO HACKING OR
ANY SOFTWARE:
Ø Phishing and scam: It is defined as the fraudulent
activity in which emails are send to various individuals, which states that the
mails are from certain good and reputed company which further induces the
person to give out their personal information to the hacker.
Ø Internet Fraud: It is a general term or category
which includes all the crime which happen over the internet like phishing,
identity theft, etc. As the name suggests it is the type of crime which uses
the internet to commit a crime.
Ø Software Piracy: Piracy means stealing; therefore
software piracy can be defined as use of copyrighted computer software which
infringes with the copyright laws.
Ø Hacking Computer Networks: It is a crime in which hacker hacks
into the private computer of the victim and then use the latter’s personal or
sensitive information to shut the computer or to destroy the data in the
computer.
Ø Ransom ware Attack: It is a type of cyber crime in
which hacker or cyber criminal locks the information of victim’s data and make
them inaccessible to the person until the criminal receives a certain amount of
money. It is done using any malicious software.
CYBER CRIMES RELATED
TO PERSON:
Ø Identity theft: It is a type of cyber crime in
which cyber criminals use the personal information like picture, e-mail address
and credit number of someone else i.e., he pretends to be someone else in order
to commit a crime.
Ø Cyber bullying: Cyber bullying is a crime which is
very common in social media, especially with the today’s youths. It is defined
as sharing the harmful and defaming content about the person online in order to
embarrass them and cause pysochological trauma.
Ø Cyber Stalking: It means stalking or persisting
someone online in order to intimidate them via continued and unwanted mails and
messages.
Ø Social Media Frauds: It is defined as use of fake
accounts in social media to perform any harmful activities in order to stalk or
bully someone online. One of such example is email spam.
CYBER CRIMES RELATED
TO PROPERTY:
Ø Online Drug Trafficking: Due to advancement in technology
and crypto currency, money is transferred in a secure manner. Drug transfer
become easier as no involvement of cash and thereby increase in use of drug
trafficking. It is done more specifically on dark web.
Ø Electronic Money Laundering: It is one of the most easy money
laundering methods. Here, online platform is used to illegally hide the origin
of black money by involving various complex banking transfers.
Ø Cyber Extortion: In cyber extortion, criminal gets
the important of the victim and to give back that information; they induce the
latter to deliver the money or any property of the person.
Ø Online Gambling: It involves participating or
placing bets in the events or any games in order to win various prizes. It may
include virtual poker, sports betting, etc.
HOW DOES ONLINE ILLEGAL SELLING AND
GAMBLING WORK?
HOW DOES ILLEGAL SELLING HAPPEN IN
VIRTUAL WORLD?
One of the most concerning use of
online world is to illegally sell the things which should not be sold in the
first place. Illegal selling in virtual world is referred to as the act of
selling or distributing the goods or rendering the services which are either
prohibited by the law or which are not in consonance with the terms and
conditions of the online platform. Dark web is very commonly used in today’s
world to sell illegal stuff. Various means or ways to sell the illegal products
online are as follows:
v Sale of counterfeit products:
Counterfeit products can be defined as the goods which are of inferior quality
posing to be as the products of any known brand and are sold without that
person authorization. Counterfeit goods are often sold in the online platform
as people are unable to see it physically and are judging the products only
through the photographs or videos. As per certain guidelines by IT Rules of
2011[1],
it is mandatory for companies to remove any unlawful or counterfeit product
within 36 hours.
v Sale of Illegal Items: Online world
is very often used to sell various products online which the seller do not have
any right to possess or sale and buyer have no right to purchase. It is the
responsibility of every buyer and seller to see that the goods bought and sold
by them are not illegal and comply with all the laws of that particular country
or state. It is the duty of all the online platforms to follow all the laws
related to illegal selling of that country[2].
v Sale of Personal Information: It is
illegal to sell the information of any person online. And this provision
differs from country to country.
HOW
DOES GAMBLING HAPPEN IN VIRTUAL WORLD?
Online gambling is one of
the fastest growing industries in the world as it is used by millions of people
because of easy accessibility and easy use. Given are methods of how does
online gambling actually works:
v Platform and Accessibility: Online
gambling can be done anywhere as it only requires stable internet, an
electronic device and money so it is easily accessible to every person. It is a
virtual space to easily access various activities like casino, poker, betting,
etc. It can be played easily from the person’s own home.
v Registration and Account Creation:
Users in order to online gamble must register in order to create their own
account. Because of this registration, personal information of the gambler like
name, age and address is shared.
v Depositing Funds: After registration,
in order to gamble, a person can deposit the money in their gambling accounts.
It can be done with the help of debit or credit card, crypto currency, bank
transfers or e-wallets. And, this money will then be used for placing bets in
the online games.
v Game Selection: After depositing the
funds, a person has the right to choose any game from wide variety of games;
Users can easily surf for the available game in the platform and bet on it.
v Random Number Generators: These
generators are used by the gaming company to randomly select the outcomes for
any game like deciding the lottery number, symbol on slot machine, etc. It
ensures the fairness and randomness of the games.
v Placing Bets and Playing Games: After
selecting their game, users can actually start placing the bets or playing the
games. The main gist of the whole games is to wager money in order to win more
from those games. Users can even communicate with gaming interface to know the
results of their bets.
v Withdrawals and Cash outs: If the
money is won by the users in the online bets, they can withdraw their rewards
by following the procedure of the gambling company or they can keep their money
deposited for their next game or bets. Withdraw method will be chosen by the
user and within stipulated time it will be received to them through online
wallet, paytm, etc.
EFFECTS OF ILLEGAL SELLING
AND GAMBLING
ON SOCIETY
EFFECTS OF
ILLEGAL SELLING ON SOCIETY
Illegal selling and
buying be it on physical or virtual world is very wrong and have some negative
effects on the society. Given below are some of the consequences of online
illegal selling:
v Fraud and Scams: It is because of
illegal selling in virtual world that there are various fraudulent activities
like selling counterfeit products, fake products, etc., are increased and thus
the buyers are suffering because of that.
v Financial Loss: Because of illegal
selling buyers have to suffer the financial loss as they get the wrong or bad
products for the full amount. Because of the fraudulent sellers, their personal
information like debit or credit card may also get leaked.
v Loss of Consumer Trust: If the
consumers get cheated due to fraudulent sellers, their trust in the platform
might be affected. This loss of trust will lead to very negative impact on the
overall online marketplace.
v Negative Impact on Legitimate
Businesses: As the illegal sellers sell the bad products in the lower cost,
more consumers are attracted towards it. As a result, the legitimate business
will get affected due to it and they will also start the malpractices.
v Damage to Brand Reputation: If the
seller sells the product using the good product name, then the reputation of
that brand name will also be damaged. It will lead to loss of consumers and less
sales.
v Safety and Security Risks: If bad
quality products are sold in the online platform, then it might even be bad for
the safety of the customers. These products might even affect the health of the
customers.
v Negative Impact on Society: Sale of illegal
drugs or weapons online will pose a great threat to the society and thus will
bring negative impact on the society.
Therefore, it is very
important that the e-platforms follow every necessary guidelines and try not to
sell fraudulent goods in their websites.
EFFECTS OF
GAMBLING ON SOCIETY
Some of the main negative effects of
the online gambling in the society are:
v Financial Consequences: Online
gambling can lead to loss of huge amount for the gamblers and their family. The
easy access and faux prizes lead to waging the huge amount to the gambling
company, which often lead to losses and financial debt to the person.
v Addiction and Mental Health Issues:
Gambling addiction is very hazardous. It might lead to various mental health
problems which may include stress, depression, anxiety, etc. In worst scenarios
it might even lead to suicide.
v Society Isolation: In online
gambling, individual spend a lot of time in the computers or their mobiles
which often lead to them isolating from the rest of the world. As a result, the
individuals lack good social behavior and communication skills.
v Increased risk of Problem Gambling:
Since, the accessibility to the online gambling and its publicity is very huge
and vast, the people who are not even interested in gambling, are drawn to
it.
v Increase in Crime: To get money for
gambling, gamblers often indulge in various crimes like theft, robbery,
kidnapping, etc.
v Relationship problems: Gambling might
often lead to various relationship problems as the gambler might often give
more importance to earn money by illegal means rather than their family or
partner.
v Negative Impact on Youth: Youth are
the people which are most exposed to these online gambling sites and they might
often become addicted to them. As a result, their entire future, financial
situations and mental health be affected.
Thus, it is very clear
that online gambling might be detrimental effect to individual and may cause
them financial, mental health or various other problems.
LEGAL
PROVISIONS AND JUDICIAL PRONOUNCEMENTS RELATED TO ILLEGAL SELLING AND GAMBLING
LAWS ON ILLEGAL SELLING USING CYBER
SPACE
As such there are no specific laws in
India related to illegal selling. It is governed by some of the provisions of
Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, Indian Penal Code, etc.
In the writ petition filed by Dr.
Zaheer Ahmed in Delhi High Court[3],
HC directed Centre and State Government to take strict action against people
who are involved in selling and buying the drugs including medicines without
any proper license. The Court was of the opinion that the sale of the drugs and
medicines put the lives of the people at high risk and thus it is in
contravention with right to safe and healthy life.[4]
Even though there are no specific laws
related to online selling and buying in the internet, there are some points
which need to be considered while engaging in the online market:
·
Selling
Restricted Items: Just like in physical items, certain restricted items like
alcohol, medicals, tobacco, should not be sold without any license; same should
be done in the virtual world.
·
Platform
Restrictions: Sellers should check and keep in mind the various restrictions
which are put in the particular website or platform and should not sell those
restricted items.
·
Legal
Agreements: It is very important to have the legal agreement between seller and
buyer for protection of consumer’s personal data. Agreement can be related to
refund policies, privacy policies, terms and conditions to be followed, etc.
·
Return
and Refund: Consumer should be very well aware about the refund and return
policies regarding their products.
·
Privacy:
Consumers data shall be protected by the seller and the online platform i.e.,
the intermediary.
·
Consumer
Protection: Seller should follow all his duty towards the buyer which the
seller has to follow on the physical world also.
Therefore buyer should
take all the precautions and try to not indulge in any unfair trade practices
online.
LAWS RELATED TO ONLINE GAMBLING
There is no comprehensive law in
India related to online gambling and therefore no clarity and no
standardization. It is important and recommended that centre must try to bring
a uniform legislation related to gambling. Because of Covid-19, there is a huge
increase in the gambling as people were free and do not have other means to
satisfy their financial needs. Gambling is regulated in India by various
judicial pronouncements and some state laws. Given below are some of the points
how the online gambling is regulated by various states:
·
The
Public Gambling Act, 1867 was the first law which prohibited any form of
gambling in the country but it was to be noted that no person was prosecuted
under this act for online betting.
·
In
the states of Goa & Sikkim and Union Territory of Daman, the online
gambling is legalized and even online lottery is accepted.
·
In
Maharashtra, gambling is prohibited under Bombay Prevention of Gambling Act,
1887[5]
and is considered illegal.
·
In
Nagaland also e-gaming is legalized. Sikkim and Nagaland, were the first state
to include online gambling under the purview of gambling.
·
In
Telangana and Arunachal Pradesh, gambling is considered as the games of skill
and is considered illegal.
·
Telangana
was first state which banned online gambling. After that, even Kerala, Tamil
Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka have banned online gambling.
·
In
2018, many customers were arrested for not following the state gambling rules.
But since most of the laws do not include the online gambling, there was no
punishment specified and thus they were governed by general principles.
The case of M/s
Gaussian networks Pvt. Ltd. v Monica Lakhanpal and State of NCT Delhi,[6] court
discussed online gambling and held that a game of skills is not a gamble, game
played only due to money are illegal, if games are played only for money in
virtual world will be illegal, even if same is not the case in physical world
and gaming sites were not allowed to promote gambling.
In the case of All Kerala
Online Lottery Dealers Associations v State of Kerala[7],
court has held that the banning of online lotteries will not infringe the
rights of the gambling companies.
Therefore from above
points and case laws it is very clear that the laws on gambling are only state
based and there is need for strong gambling laws in India.
CONCLUSION
It can be rightly said,
in the end that illegal selling and gambling is harmful for the society as it
cause financial loss and mental stress to the individual as well as his family.
In case of online gambling along with financial loss and mental loss, it will
also cause an addiction problem, social isolation and a very negative impact on
the future of the individual especially to the young generation. In case of
illegal selling, it will also cause damage to the brand name, safety risk, loss
of consumer trust in the online platforms and a very negative impact on the
society.
There is no comprehensive
law in India which has all the penalties and punishments related to every cyber
crime. It is open to wide interpretation from the criminals, whom they use to
get away from the punishment and hence the justice is not served to the
innocent. As a result there are various criminals, who indulge in online
gambling and illegal selling, are not punished. Hence, it is need of the hour
that the legislation shall bring single law in the country so that all the
cyber crimes are covered and speedy delivery of justice is possible.
[1] Information Technology
(Intermediaries Guidelines) Rules, 2011, Rule 3(2), (India).
[3] Dr. Zaheer Ahmed v Union of India
& Ors., Writ Petition no. 11711/2018, Delhi HC, 2019.
[4] The Constitution of India, Article
21.
[5] Bombay Prevention of Gambling Act,
1887,§3 (4 of 1887) (India).
[6] M/s Gaussian networks Pvt. Ltd. v
Monica Lakhanpal and State of NCT Delhi, C.R.P. 119/2012, Order dated
21.04.2016 (Delhi, April 21, 2016).
[7] All Kerala Online Lottery Dealers
Associations v State of Kerala, [(2016) 2 SCC 161].
Article Information
USE OF ONLINE PLATFORM FOR ILLEGAL SELLING AND GAMBLING
Authors: MS. ANANYA GOYAL, DR. JYOTI DHARM
- Journal IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
- Published 2024/02/22
- Issue 7
About Journal
International Journal for Legal Research and Analysis
- Abbreviation IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
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- License CC 4.0
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