The winter session of the Parliament is underway. Lok Sabha MP Margani Bharat and MP Chinta Anuradha put forward a list of questions to Minister of State for IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar concerning online real money gaming which were answered today.
Speaking on the recent surge in popularity of online real money games, the MPs asked if the government is aware of the situation which is leading to growing instances of operations of fraudulent applications and their illegal advertising. They also asked if the latest amendments made by the government to the IT Rules, 2021 were able to achieve their intended motives.
Responding to the queries, Chandrasekhar said that the policies were formed with the intention to create an “open, safe, trusted and accountable” internet for all users. In order to minimize the risks to users, the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) was handed the responsibility to look after these matters back in 2022.
“The policies created by the government for online gaming are meant to safeguard or minimize the risk of harm to the users,” he added.
Regarding the question of whether further intervention is planned by the government in this matter, Chandrasekhar replied that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has issued advisories to print and electronic media to refrain from showing adverts of illegal betting platforms in future.
They also asked how the Union and state governments can coordinate their efforts to protect people from getting duped by betting and gambling platforms and thus minimise the negative effects of them.
“The Ministry has also issued an advisory to all private satellite television channels on ‘Advertisements on Online Games, Fantasy Sports, etc.’, advising all broadcasters that the guidelines issued by the Advertising Standards Council of India be complied with and that the advertisements broadcast on television adhere to the same,” Chandrasekhar responded.
