The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) organized an inter-ministerial task force to develop the boundaries of national-level legislation to govern online gaming in the country. Among other things, the task force advised developing a central regulatory agency for the sector, making explicit what games of skill & chance are, and working to bring online gaming under the authority of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act of 2002.
The Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS) praised the government’s move to set up this inter-ministerial task force (IMTF) concerning online gaming.
Online gaming and fantasy sports corporate leaders: FIFS chairperson Bimal Julka, Fantasy-Akhada co-founder Pratik Gosar, Khelo-Fantasy founder Santosh Smith, and many others visited Minister of State for Skill Development, Electronics & IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar for discussions.
What does the Taskforce aim to do?
The seven-member council includes government think factory Niti Aayog’s CEO and secretaries of home affairs, revenue, industries & internal trade, electronics & IT, information & broadcasting and sports.
The panel will look into several factors to encourage online gaming and design regulatory processes for the industry, protection of gamers, and convenience of doing business, among many others.
FIFS has said that the task force has been assigned to inspect problems encountered by the gaming market, recognize global best practices in legal and legislative paradigms, and bring in a detailed and uniform regulatory system for an answerable, transparent & safe online gaming environment.
It stated the establishment of the task force is in keeping with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s goal of transforming India’s digital gaming sector into a worldwide powerhouse.
The formation of the Taskforce
On May 6, 2022, the interministerial task force was established. There was also the secretary of the departments of revenue, promotion of industry & internal commerce, legal affairs, and the CEO of Niti Aayog. In addition, the representatives of ministries of home affairs, information & broadcasting, electronics and IT, and youth affairs & sports were also represented.
The gaming sector requested a national gaming law during its meeting with the task team on June 7, 2022. This was agreed upon by 13 states and territories that had also taken part in discussions with the task force in accordance with the task force’s report.
The task group report also mentioned the requirement to “create a unified legislation to define what types of online gambling are legally authorized, and eradicate the present disparities between the laws in the various states. In addition, the research emphasized the necessity for a “single body” to manage all concerns connected to online gambling, particularly to resolve customer grievances, whether a central ministry or a distinct regulating organization.
Why is such a task force necessary?
The online gaming sector has long sought central-level law to govern the sector. Hence, MeitY established this task force in May 2022 to establish guidelines for regulating online gambling.
In October 2022, the task force recommended the development of a central regulatory organization for the sector, explicitly defining how games of skill as well as chance are and bringing online gaming under the scope of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, among several other things.
A major reason for establishing this Taskforce is the growth of the Indian Online Gaming sector. As per research by VC firm Sequoia & management consultancy firm BCG, the overall revenue of the Indian mobile gaming market is expected to surpass $1.5 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach $5 billion in 2025. The industry increased at a CAGR of 38 percent during 2017-2020, contrasted to 8 per cent in China or 10 per cent in the US. Furthermore, it is predicted to expand at a CAGR of 15 percent to reach Rs 153 billion in revenue by 2024.
India’s proportion of new paying users (NPUs) within gaming has been among the quickest rising globally for two straight years, at 40 percent in 2020 and 50 percent in 2021. In accordance with a report by FICCI, transaction-based games’ earnings climbed 26 per cent in India, with the number of paying players growing by 17 percent from 80 million in 2020 to 95 million in 2021.
Conclusion
Future success in the Indian gaming sector would be brought about by rapid digitalization and change, expanding internet activity, and growing smartphone penetration. There will be a creation of new technologies, and gamers will be capable of experiencing more lifelike, dynamic, and captivating experiences. Gaming experiences would continue evolving and ultimately benefit the Indian gaming sector to achieve extraordinary heights. With the task force being formed, it would be exciting to see how it tackles the problems existing with the Online Gaming rules in India.
