The Indian government has acknowledged that there is confusion between online gaming and gambling. During a recent discussion in the Lok Sabha, Ministry of Electronics & IT (MeitY) Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw responded to questions about online gambling and illegal betting.
BJP MP Rajendra Agrawal asked the Minister about the number of suicides committed by young people, as a result of addiction to online gambling and betting. The Minister replied that betting and gambling fall under the state list and that several states have their own acts for regulation.
#InLokSabha@GoI_MeitY Minister, Shri @AshwiniVaishnaw responded to several questions in the Lok Sabha today on online gambling and illegal betting, as well as the proposed draft amendments to IT Rules in relation to online gaming. 1/14@_maadhyam_ pic.twitter.com/8Rclc2fPlC
— On Parliament (@IFFonParliament) February 8, 2023
The Indian government’s definition of “online gaming” has been unclear. However, Vaishnaw also pointed out that the digital world has no boundaries. The classification of games as “skill” versus “chance” causes confusion and gap, and it leads to conflicting court orders. This is why the Ministry has created an inter-ministerial taskforce to regulate online gaming. The taskforce will propose rules for online gaming after discussing with all stakeholders, the Minister said. He shared MP Agrawal’s concern and stressed the need to regulate online gambling and betting to tackle the youth’s addiction.
INC MP Manish Tewari highlighted the contradiction between the Minister’s response and the Ministry’s actions. He asked the basis for the government’s proposed amendments to the IT Rules, 2021 for online gaming, given that it falls under the state’s jurisdiction.
The Minister stated in reply that any online website or app qualifies as an intermediary under the IT Act, 2000, and thus the Ministry has the power to amend the IT Rules and introduce online games as an intermediary.
Recently, the Indian video games and esports industry has banded together to appeal the government to have a regulatory distinction between video games and real money games.
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