The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (WBNUJS) will be establishing a centre for online gaming, technology and sports law with a grant of Rs 1 crore from Gameskraft with whom it will be signing an MoU soon.
In addition to conducting research in the areas of technology, entertainment, and sports law, the centre will organise lectures and training sessions to impart students with knowledge of emerging areas of law. The vice-chancellor of WBNUJS, Prof. Nirmal Kanti Chakrabarti, said that it would also offer certificate programs to broaden the understanding of lawyers and law students.
The VC explained that since online gaming is rapidly becoming a popular pastime for people of all ages this centre will focus on legal studies of this emerging industry in order to prevent consumers from being taken advantage of.
Prof Chakraborti added that as there is no appropriate legislation for online gaming and the Law Commission had recently proposed certain measures in Parliament the decision was made to enact strict laws.
Currently, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) is the nodal agency for monitoring online gaming and vetting the content to ensure that female players are not harmed. In order to provide regulatory clarity for online gaming, WBNUJS would also offer its recommendations to the concerned ministry. The VC also mentioned that the Centre will look at the state of gambling and betting in India and how the regulations can be made more stringent.
“The online gaming industry requires proper training to remain updated about the regulations. WBNUJS is setting up the centre through a grant of Rs 1 crore from Gameskraft – an online gaming platform, and it will also sponsor one gold medal and research positions at the centre,” said Prof. Chakrabarti as quoted by The Times of India.
The centre will also provide certificate programs and crash courses in entertainment law as well as spreading awareness of intellectual property rights rules since entertainment laws are becoming more and more significant in India. Along with it, the WBNUJS will be offering courses in sports law as well. The course will cover a host of topics including contract law, broadcast rights, sponsorhsips, among others.