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India takes first step towards self-regulatory body for online gaming

Through the proposed amendments, gaming companies would be required to obtain government approval in order to register a self-regulation body.

Morgan Shaver

January 3, 2023 11:05 AM

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In draft amendments to its new information technology rules published Monday, India is proposing the creation of a new body to help regulate the rapidly growing online gaming industry. As noted by outlets like Reuters, with this, game companies would be required to obtain government approval in order to register a self-regulation body.

Included in this process is the need for gaming companies to have a member nominated by the government who has a background in public policy, public administration, law enforcement, or public finance in addition to nominating another member from the field of psychology, medicine, or consumer education.

Furthermore, the draft amendments suggest companies should also appoint a Chief Compliance Officer (COO) to help “ensure conformity with the law,” as reported by Reuters, as well as to help verify user identity when creating an online account to play games.

Among the reasoning behind the nomination of these members with experience in areas such as public finance or psychology include growing concerns over the proliferation of games among young people and how this has reportedly led to issues with addiction as well as financial losses.

"We believe this is a great first step for comprehensive regulation for online gaming and will hopefully reduce the state-wise regulatory fragmentation that was a big challenge for the industry," stated Roland Landers, CEO of the All India Gaming Federation.

Overall, it’s interesting to see these new moves being taken in regards to online gaming in India. For more on the new draft amendments, be sure to read through the full report from Reuters. Also check out some of our other legal-related game coverage including how Epic Games has to pay $520 million in settlement to the FTC over alleged privacy violations and unwanted charges, and how new CA and WA pay transparency laws showed Blizzard paying its QA staff far less than those at Riot or Bungie.

Morgan Shaver

Senior Editor

Morgan is a writer from the frozen wastelands of Maine who enjoys metal music, kpop, horror, and indie games. They're also a Tetris fanatic who's fiercely competitive in games like Tetris 99... and all games in general. But mostly Tetris. You can follow Morgan on Twitter @Author_MShaver.