Unpacking India’s New Technology Rules and its Impact on Online Gambling

The Indian Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeiTY) has updated its rules and definitions for online gaming with the express intent of protecting consumers from predatory monetisation practices and addictive content.

There was a hope that the new definitions would outline a positive federal stance on games of chance; however, this has yet to be the case.

Why Did India Need New Laws?

India has drawn the attention of the gaming and igaming world in equal measure thanks to its massive population of technology-savvy individuals. With over 1.4 billion residents and an annual GDP of over $3 trillion, any digital entertainment business that can entrench itself in the market stands to make a lot of money.

The lure of such rich fiscal hunting grounds has led to many mobile gaming providers hitting the country with a number of low-value asset flip titles with incredibly aggressive monetisation schemes. The same has been true of video games, where loot boxes have become a fixture of Indian pc and console gaming.

Naturally, there has been a push for licensed online gambling in India, which has met with some success due to state-level approval of the industry. To date, no federal law has made casino games and online betting legal nationwide.

 SROs Central to the Future of Indian Gaming

The SROs will consist of members from various sectors to ensure that there is no bias when implementing the letter of the law.

In short, the new laws state that:

1. The government will create Self-Regulatory Organisations (SRO) to determine if a game meets the requirements for approval.
2. SROs are to ensure that all approved games do not pose any risk of addiction or contribute to mental health issues. This will include offering parental controls, applicable consumer warnings, and an age-rating system.
3. Gaming companies must verify the identity and age of players while not sharing any content deemed to be harmful.
4. Games must allow players to opt out once they have reached time or spending limits.
5. Games are automatically rejected if they offer real money wagering or betting.

These SROs will act on the government’s behalf to ensure that all the minutiae of the updated technology law are adhered to in the approval process and enforced later down the line should approved games be updated with ineligible features.

 Gambling Still Out in the Cold

Despite online gambling being a favoured pastime for the citizens of India, most of the country's states have not regulated the industry. According to a recent census, Goa, Daman, and Sikkim are the only states that officially recognise gambling.

The updated technology law continues to hamper the adoption of regulated online gambling in India, with the Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar saying that “permissible online games are those games, real money or otherwise, that do not involve wagering, user harm in its content and do not create any addictive consequences”.

Following close on the heels of the amended technology regulations, the governor of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu signed the “Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Gambling & Regulation of Online Games Bill" into power. The newly approved bill bans all online gaming, in direct contradiction to the new technology laws, and uses these stricter measures to block its residents from enjoying games of chance for real money at the same time.