Online gaming industry leaders including the Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS), the E-Gaming Federation (EGF), and the All India Gaming Federation (AIGF) have signed the “Code of Ethics for Online Gaming Industries” during the Indian Gaming Convention (IGC) hosted by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) on December 5.
As part of it, the industry leaders will be working towards safeguarding the online gaming experience and building a trusted and accountable digital gaming industry for everyone.
Speaking of this step by the industry, President of IAMAI, Subho Ray said, “We at IAMAI are happy to have curated the Voluntary Code of Ethics for Online Gaming Intermediaries, which has been signed by four industry bodies representing the digital gaming sector in India. This is a progressive step towards building a transparent and accountable gaming ecosystem with a focus on consumer protection.”
With the speed at which the online gaming industry is developing in India, creating a safer internet for players remains the top priority as per the Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar, who considers the industry as a crucial part of the $1 trillion digital economy goal.
“Our approach is to catalyse the startup and innovation ecosystem while ensuring the safety of gamers including children, and unambiguously prohibiting games promoting wagering, addiction and user harm,” he said as per Business Standard.
Industry leaders also shared their views with CEO of AIGF, Roland Landers saying, “We are committed to building a responsible and ethical industry which puts a strong focus on educating players about gaming responsibly, implementing self-checks and self-exclusion among other things.”
Anurag Saxena, CEO of EGF, urged for the implementation of the new IT rules by establishing Self-Regulatory Bodies (SRBs) with regulatory oversight. Meanwhile, the Director-General of FIFS, Joy Bhattacharjya said, “The ‘Code of Ethics’ for Online Gaming intermediaries reinforces the industry’s commitment towards growing the sector, contributing to the Honourable Prime Minister’s vision of becoming a $1 trillion Digital economy and creating a safe, trusted and accountable gaming ecosystem.”