Following the announcement of new online gaming rules, Minister of State for the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Rajeev Chandrasekhar has announced that the government will be banning games that come in the following three categories –
- Games that involve betting
- Games can be harmful to the user
- Games that involve a factor of addiction
Speaking to ANI, Chandrasekhar said, “For the first time we have prepared a framework regarding online gaming, in that we will not allow 3 types of games in the country. Games that involve betting or can be harmful to the user and that involves a factor of addiction will be banned in the country.”
While user harm generally includes risks such as information theft and fraud, addiction includes spending an unreasonable amount of time playing a game or spending money on it that a user cannot afford. However, there is still no clarity on how wagering is defined under the new rules.
As per the explanation provided by the government, games that involve wagering on the outcome of a game will be banned, be it games of skill or games of chance. While the government might believe that the definition is clear enough, the online gaming industry begs to differ.
For now, the only thing online gaming companies can do is wait for the SROs to be formed which will decide if their games are allowed under the new online gaming rules or not.
Speaking of SROs, Chandrasekhar has also stated that if the industry bodies fail to form SROs by the end of the 90-day deadline granted in April, MeitY will start certifying online games as permissible or not.
As of now, only the All India Gaming Federation (AIGF) has taken visible steps in this matter as they have come up with a draft model charter for SROs. With the deadline approaching, details regarding the other two SROs might also come out soon.