The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has released draft amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021, pertaining to online gaming for public consultations. According to MeitY, the draft has been prepared to ensure that online games should be offered in conformity with Indian laws and that the users of such games be safeguarded against potential harm.
With the amendments, the government has proposed self-regulatory bodies for online gaming companies operating in India. It has proposed verification of users and measures to safeguard users against the risk of gaming addiction and financial loss.
The draft rules suggest additional due diligence for companies by displaying a registration mark on all online games registered by a self-regulatory organisation (SRO) and informing its users regarding its policy related to withdrawal or refund of the deposit, manner of determination and distribution of winnings, fees and other charges payable and know-your-customer (KYC) procedure for user account registration. Self-regulatory bodies will be registered with the ministry and may register online games of such online gaming intermediaries who are its members and which meet certain criteria. Such bodies will also resolve complaints through a grievance redressal mechanism. Further, it has also proposed the appointment of key managerial personnel or a senior employee of the gaming firm, who should be an Indian resident, as chief compliance officer and the online gaming platform to have a physical contact address in India published on its website or mobile-based application.
Commenting on the amendments, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of State for Electronics and IT, said, “The rules are simple – we would like the online gaming ecosystem to expand and grow and be an important catalyst to India’s one trillion dollar digital economy goal by 2025-26. We also envision a bigger role for startups in the online gaming industry”.
According to Chandrasekhar, MeitY had moved swiftly in framing of the policy and this was possible due to a series of meetings/consultations conducted by the ministry with stakeholders prior to drafting the policy. He added that the ministry would be holding another set of public consultations to finalise the policy soon. Further, he said that the draft has proposed a self-regulatory mechanism which, in future, may also regulate the content of online gaming and ensure that the games do not have violent, addictive or sexual content. Speaking on safety concerns, the minister said that around 40 to 45 per cent of the gamers in India are women, and therefore it was all more important to keep the gaming ecosystem safe. He stressed that the draft rules have strict provisions against betting and wagering. The online games that allow wagering on the outcome are effectively a no-go area.
MeitY has invited public feedback on these draft amendments by January 17, 2023.
