State and Central laws should be in harmony to benefit the gaming sector: Brijesh Singh, Principal Secretary, Maharashtra Govt at Storyboard18 DES 2025

At Storyboard18's Digital Entertainment Summit 2025, Brijesh Singh, Principal Secretary, Directorate General of Information & PR, Maharashtra highlighted how Maharashtra has been at the forefront of fighting cybercrime and cracking down on illegal betting and gambling platforms.

The growing complexity of cyber threats, cross-border gambling apps, and online gaming regulations has led to mounting pressure on Indian states to act in tandem. Singh laid out why harmonization, infrastructure investment, and industry partnerships are crucial to getting ahead of digital crime.

"We need one uniform policy across all states"

“First of all, I think as it has been discussed in the earlier sessions also, there needs to be one uniform policy across all states,” the official stated. Singh explained how the Indian Gambling Act of the 1850s has led to a patchwork of state-level regulations.

“So, Nagaland may come up with something, Haryana may come up with something, Maharashtra may come up with something,” he said. “There has to be a harmonization.”

Singh emphasized the difficulty of jurisdiction when parts of a crime are dispersed across servers in Europe, Scandinavia, and beyond. “It becomes difficult once, let us say, you spot a violation. Investigation becomes difficult and costly.”

Why India Needs a National Online Gaming Framework

“To put sanity around all this, you need a national framework,” he argued. “It would be very worthwhile that some kind of a model framework is created which then all states follow.”

While the Indian Gambling Act served as a template for earlier state laws, Singh said that online gaming is fundamentally different and requires a new act altogether. “Rather than having this patchwork of governance, it should have one at least unified law across all country.”

Maharashtra’s Early Bet on Cyber Infrastructure

The official shared how Maharashtra became an early mover in cyber policing. “Maharashtra was one of the first states to establish 47 cyber labs in one go. In fact, I was very lucky to be the first cyber chief in 2015.”

With an allocation of ₹1,000 crore from the then Chief Minister, “we could go around the world, see what is the state of the art and create best labs in Maharashtra.” He added that this helped train lakhs of personnel and build public awareness.

Feedback loops were also created with banks and regulators: “If we saw that there was a feedback that KYC is a weakness which is leading to crimes, then we could give feedback to the regulators... and come up with right policies and right frameworks.”

1930: The Little-Known Lifeline for Cybercrime Victims

The official praised central coordination tools like I4C and 1930. “There is a number called 1930. Everybody should remember this number because as soon as somebody is subjected to crime, they should call up this number because it stops the flight of money.”

Read More:India can lead in AVGC, but industry must focus on 'finishing skills': Jayesh Ranjan, Govt of Telangana at Storyboard18 DES 2025

In most cybercrime cases, money gets distributed across accounts in real time. “1930 has the authority to stop this flight of money. Because generally in crime we say: follow the money.”

He also highlighted cybercrime.gov.in, where victims can lodge anonymous complaints. “A lot has been done... in raising the capabilities and the capacity and the skills of police forces to investigate cybercrimes.”

From Piracy to Platform Accountability

On partnerships, the official cited the Maharashtra Cyber Digital Crime Unit, later rebranded as the Intellectual Property Crime Unit. “It was a unique partnership in which we told the industry: you give us the infrastructure, manpower, expertise—we’ll give you the law enforcement teeth.”

This collaboration led to blocking millions of piracy hits per month. “Only 14% of piracy traffic was happening in India and 16% overseas,” he said, rebutting long-standing criticism of India’s IP enforcement.

He called for similar public-private models for threat intelligence sharing: “It can be about anything—crypto flows, malware, IPs, illegal transactions.”

The Case for Global Cybercrime Harmony

“There has been a felt need for a global cyber crime convention,” he said, referencing the Budapest Convention, which India did not sign due to sovereignty concerns.

“You cannot tell the largest democracy how to run itself, right?” he said.

But with cybercrime projected to hit $10.5 trillion globally this year, the United Nations has begun work on a new Global Cybercrime Convention.

He also pointed to the investigative complications created by laws like GDPR, saying they hinder timely access to data, while “bad guys collaborate in real time.”

Centre-State Synergy and Capability Gaps

“Policing is a state subject,” he explained. “Investigation, collection of evidence, arrests—all of that falls under state jurisdiction.”

However, he pointed out disparities in capacity: “Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Odisha, Maharashtra, Karnataka—all have varying levels of capability.” Skills, forensic capacity, and evidentiary processes need urgent investment from states.

When states discover illegal apps violating laws like PMLA, they must request central ministries to block these apps nationally. But circumvention through VPNs and proxies is common.

“Digital space is much harder to control than physical space,” he said. “So regulation alone isn’t enough. Platform responsibility and self-regulation are critical.”

Courts Step In, But Speed Remains a Challenge

The official acknowledged that Indian courts have become more proactive, citing broad blocking and John Doe orders. “But legal procedures are slow. It’s difficult to get information, especially if it pertains to overseas servers.”

He added that encryption and anti-forensics make it difficult to investigate, even when data is recovered.

“Encryption is a double-edged sword. It protects secrecy but also hinders law enforcement.”

"We need harmonization and we need it now"

Speaking on behalf of industry and enforcement alike, Singh pushed for regulatory clarity. “If there is no regulatory certainty, then it’s difficult to do business.”

He stressed that while gaming is a state subject under the Constitution, it’s illogical to apply a land-based legal model to the internet. “There are no borders on the internet.”

“Maharashtra wants to be the gaming capital of India,” he concluded, referring to WAVES 2025 and the PM’s vocal support for the sector. “But we must harmonize laws across the country to enable this industry to grow.”

Read More:Opinion Trading platform is betting and gambling: MC Sarangan of TNOGA at Storyboard18 DES 2025