CIO Insider

CIOInsider India Magazine

Separator

Inter-Ministerial Body to Set-Up Regulatory Framework on Online Gaming

CIO Insider Team | Tuesday, 23 August, 2022
Separator

Rules restricting the amount of money that individual players spend in a game are likely to be introduced by an inter-ministerial body entrusted with developing a framework to regulate online gaming.

According to reports, the task force established by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) may also establish a cap on the amount of money that players may spend each day on in-game purchases. The sources stated that the main goal of the task force is to ensure ‘consumer and gamer protection’.

Over the course of the upcoming month, the proposed regulations will likely be refined and released for public comment.

The ministerial grouping had proposed that Meity revise the Information Technology Act of 2000 to incorporate regulations for the gaming industry during a meeting earlier this month, in a manner similar to the introduction of the Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code in February 2021.

The provisions for self-regulation will also be found in the Rules for Gaming under the IT Act. The creation of a self-regulatory organization (SRO) that can investigate and rule on various areas of online gambling has already been mandated for the gaming industry.

Word on the street says that the SRO should have powers to decide whether a game is trespassing into the game of chance and therefore gambling, there must be statutory powers to take them down

Meity has invited industry representatives to rewrite the terms after rejecting the first two SRO suggestions.

A retired judge from the Supreme Court or another high court might preside over the proposed SRO, which could have five or seven members. Additionally, it is suggested that there be central government representatives, business people, and technical specialists from a variety of disciplines, including law and human rights, among others.

It is said that it could be comparable to the self-regulatory organization for social media intermediaries being suggested by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI).

The industry-led SRO should have the authority to determine whether a game is one of skill or chance, as well as to issue content take-down notices as necessary, in addition to serving in administrative and advising capacities.

Senior IT ministry officials, including Minister of State Rajeev Chandrasekhar, and representatives from gaming companies met earlier on June 7; during that meeting, the sector was tasked with developing comprehensive policies on a number of different topics, including an objective definition of games of skill and chance.

Word on the street says that the SRO should have powers to decide whether a game is trespassing into the game of chance and therefore gambling, there must be statutory powers to take them down.

Representatives from around 40 online gaming companies had voiced their concerns about the various laws announced by state governments, including Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka, at the meeting with Meity. To avoid sudden shocks to the sector gaming companies including Nazara Technologies, Galactus Funware Technology Private, which owns Mobile Premier League, and Sporta Technologies, which owns Dream11, pushed for the creation of a single regulatory framework that is reliable and predictable.

Current Issue
VKRAFT Software Services: Pioneering Innovation In Integration & Beyond