A call for mutual understanding between government and industry and for the adoption of meaningful regulation including responsible gaming mechanisms over online games is voiced in a recent article by Dr. Subi Chaturvedi. The text argues that regulatory certainty for the online gaming sector will enable it to make its contribution in propelling India towards the nation’s dream of a trillion dollar digital economy.
Having gained a substantial growth impetus, attracting massive foreign investments and creating vast new job opportunities, “the gaming industry looks poised to carry the baton in the next phase of innovation and growth,” writes Dr. Chaturvedi.
Dr. Chaturvedi highly acclaims the recent decision of the High Court of Karnataka to strike down as unconstitutional certain sections of the state’s Police Act Amendment Bill of 2021 which placed a blanket ban on online gaming including on games of skill involving transfers of money of any sort. According to the author, this judgment represents “the true spirit of our nation” and will serve to clear Karnataka’s image of India’s startup capital that was harmed by the state government’s “misinformed decision”.
Progressive Central Legislation is the Way Forward
“While we do need central, progressive and ubiquitous policies for online gaming in India, local governments and enforcement organizations need to work with the industry to establish best practices and promote responsible gaming,” writes Dr. Chaturvedi.
“Blanket bans are uninspired and ineffective ways of dealing with any perceived problems and have no place in the India of 2022,” the author adds, not failing to mention the other outright prohibitions on online gaming that were recently declared unconstitutional and invalid by the High Courts of Kerala and Madras.
Regulation and Licensing Regimes have been Tested to Work
The leading practice around the developed economies of the world has elaborated effective ways to address problems perceived to arise from gaming by implementing a national regulation and licensing regime over the field, as shown by a recent Esse N Videri study on the matter.
Sweden is one of the more recent examples as the country abandoned its previous state monopoly system and in 2019 moved on to grant licenses to operators who wished to work there, copying a large portion of Denmark’s earlier-adopted and time-proven policies.
Sweden’s change of attitude was driven by the influx of foreign platforms in the country’s cyber space and the realization that it was not technically feasible or even possible to effectively block them. Instead, the Scandinavian government chose to let these operators in, but have them adhere to strict responsible gaming and anti-money laundering rules and pay taxes and large license fees to the Swedish state.
The Esse N Videri study also reveals a global shift in gaming regulations from data protection to customer protection. Contemporary responsible gaming mechanisms make use of AI-based solutions and older methods to actively shield users from addictions and other problem gaming and mental health issues, while also protecting them from heavy financial losses, data and privacy breaches, as well as unfair and fraudulent platforms.
In India’s case, the establishment of a national-level Game Categorization Authority can play a key role in providing clarity by rating games so there can be no ambiguity whether to treat rummy, poker, blackjack online and numerous other titles as games of skill or games of chance. Further classification should also be made along age-based criteria which, together with Aadhaar-based account verification system, can ensure the protection of India’s children from unsuitable games.
The Growth of Gaming in India has Surpassed that of Social Media
In her article, Dr. Subi Chaturvedi quotes findings from a recent report by global management advisors Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and venture capital company Sequoia to illustrate the impressive growth and development achieved by the Indian gaming industry. The market size of the sector reached $1.8 billion in 2020, having registered a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 37 percent in FY 2018-19, which accelerated to 39 percent in FY 2019-2020, surpassing the growth rates registered by social and online media of 26 and 11 percent for the respective years.
Sensible regulatory framework is what is needed, highlights Dr. Chaturvedi, for the Indian gaming sector to answer Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent call “for more games that are made in India and take the history and culture of our nation to the world”.
The author is the current chairperson of the Technology, Policy and Leadership committee of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and a former member of the United Nations Internet Governance Forum.
