News Highlight
IT Ministry regulates real money gaming platforms, I&B Ministry warns against betting ads.
Key Takeaway
- The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) modified the IT Regulations 2021.
- Its purpose is to regulate “online real money games,” in which consumers must risk money to play.
- The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting released a new guideline cautioning media companies, platforms, and online intermediaries from airing betting and gaming platform commercials.
Regulation for Real Money Gaming
- About
- The IT Ministry’s Information Technology Amendment Rules, 2023, necessitate real money gaming platforms.
- Its purpose is to register with a self-regulatory body (SRB), which will determine whether the game is “permissible.”
- Self-regulatory body (SRB)
- According to the Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technologies, three SRBs will be recognised soon.
- The government will now have more say over how SRBs operate.
- Most guidelines’ principles are already part of the industry’s best practices for responsible gaming.
- If these games are not designated “permissible,” the amendment will not protect them, and states may be able to punish them for being betting or gambling sites.
- Games deemed legitimate will be allowed to operate legally, even if they contain deposits with the possibility of winning.
- SRB registration is not required for video games that do not involve money.
Online Gaming in India
- With over 13 crore users participating across over 200 platforms, India is the world’s largest market for fantasy sports.
- The government has observed an increase in the number of persons participating in online rummy.
- To separate the games, India divides them into two basic groups.
- The game is classified as either a game of chance or skill.
Need for such Rules in India
- Safeguarding the Users
- Protecting consumers against potential danger from skill-based games.
- The idea is to regulate and impose due diligence requirements on online gaming sites as intermediaries.
- It will boost the online gaming industry and foster innovation.
- Safety of Women
- Women account for 40 to 45 per cent of players in India, making it all the more crucial to safeguard the gaming ecology.
- Revenue generating so needs to be regulated
- The Indian mobile gaming industry’s revenue is predicted to exceed $1.5 billion in 2022 and reach $5 billion by 2025.
- Between 2017 and 2020, the industry increased at a CAGR of 38% in India, compared to 8% in China and 10% in the United States.
- It is predicted to expand at a 15% CAGR to Rs 153 billion in sales by 2024.
- Transparency & Credibility
- This framework will strengthen the lawful domestic online gaming business by increasing transparency, consumer protection, and investor trust.
- Encouraging Startups
- Internet gaming is critical to the startup environment and the trillion-dollar economy’s ambition.
Issues with Online Gaming
- Addiction issues
- Several social activists, government authorities, and law enforcement officers fear that online games like rummy and poker are addictive and, when played for monetary stakes, can lead to further problems.
- Some people are losing money and becoming indebted.
- Some of the victims committed suicide.
- The study found that internet games are addicting, regardless of whether they require talent or are merely techniques.
- Social Risks
- According to reports, there have been a few cases where young people faced rising debts.
- Because of losses in online games, people have committed other crimes, such as theft and murder.
- Manipulative websites
- Several researchers believe that online games are vulnerable to manipulation by the websites that host them.
- It’s possible that consumers aren’t playing these games against actual people but against autonomous robots called “bots.”
- An ordinary user has no realistic chance of winning the game.
Way Forward
- Several researchers believe that online games are vulnerable to manipulation by the websites that host them.
- Consumers may not be playing these games against actual people but against autonomous robots called “bots.”
- An ordinary user has no realistic chance of winning the game.
Pic Courtesy: MB News
Content Source: The Hindu