Govt To Meet Relevant Firms, Intermediaries To Discuss Online Gaming Rules Today

SUMMARY

The role and structure of the proposed self-regulatory organisation is likely to be discussed in the meeting

Senior officials from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology are likely to meet top executives from gaming companies

Last week, MoS Rajeev Chandrasekhar said that the government will not allow the industry to take complete control of the proposed SRO

After having discussions with schools and parents last week, the government is likely to meet online gaming companies and intermediaries on Tuesday to discuss the draft online gaming rules.

The role and structure of the proposed self-regulatory organisation (SRO), the mandatory know-your-customer (KYC) requirement norms for gamers are likely to be discussed in the meeting, along with other proposals of the draft rule, ET reported.

Senior officials from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), the nodal agency for online gaming, are likely to meet top executives from gaming companies for the talks.

This comes at a time when the government is tightening its grip around online gaming. MeitY has proposed a self-regulatory mechanism for online gaming companies in the draft online gaming rules.

Last week, the Union Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar said that the government will not allow the industry to take complete control of the proposed self-regulatory body for online gaming,

“We are going by the principle of accountability and transparency. The government will certainly not allow the industry to hijack the SRO,” the minister said.

He also assured that the SRO will have equitable representation of all industry stakeholders.

“Self-regulatory bodies will be registered with the ministry and may register online games of such online gaming intermediaries who are its members and which meet certain criteria. Such bodies will also resolve complaints through a grievance redressal mechanism,” the ministry said while publishing the draft rules.

Now, the government has started extensive public consultations on the draft rules for online gaming.

Last week, the MeitY held the first set of discussions with key stakeholders including parents, students and educationists. During the meeting, some of the educators urged the minister to ensure that the proposed self regulatory body “operates at an arm’s length” from the industry.

The Indian gaming startup ecosystem has produced unicorns such as Dream11, MPL, and Games24X7. However, due to regulatory uncertainty and economic downturn, the sector saw a sharp 80% decline in funding in 2022. Indian gaming startups raised just $349 Mn in 2022 as compared to $1.74 Bn in 2021, as per Inc42 data.

Meanwhile, the number of gamers in the country grew 12% to 507 Mn by March 2022 (24% were paying users) from 450 Mn in March 2021, according to a report by gaming and interactive media-focused VC fund Lumikai.