Swadeshi Jagran Manch Calls For Capping Entry Fee For Online Games

SUMMARY

SJM national co-convenor Ashwani Mahajan said that the ticket size should not be more than INR 50, and called online gaming an addiction

SJM will hold talks with all concerned ministries on the issue, Mahajan said

An inter-ministerial group, formed by the government to come up with a framework to regulate online gaming, also reportedly plans to introduce spending limits for individual users

The Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), an affiliate of the RSS, has called for capping the entry fees for individual users playing online games.

“Ticket size should be regulated. It should not be more than 50 rupees. This is an addiction,” SJM’s national co-convenor Ashwani Mahajan told news agency Reuters.

Mahajan added that the SJM would hold talks with all concerned ministries for the same.

The statement comes at a time when an inter-ministerial group, set up by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), is working on preparing the framework for regulating the online gaming industry in the country.

The inter-ministerial group reportedly plans to introduce spending limits for individual users of online games.

Last week, it was also reported that a government panel has recommended creating a regulatory body to classify online games as based on skills or chance. It has also suggested having central regulation for online gaming.

The gaming industry has long called for a central law to bring uniformity in the sector. Currently, ‘sports’ and ‘betting and gambling’ are under the purview of the state governments. This has often created trouble for the gaming industry.

From Kerala to Andhra Pradesh to Tamil Nadu, many states have issued notifications in the past banning online gaming. While many of the notifications were struck down by the respective High Courts, the events led to confusion and uneasiness among gaming startups.

Online gaming has gained a lot of popularity over the last few years in the country. The industry has minted three unicorns till date – Dream11, MPL and Games 24×7. Besides, gaming company Nazara Technologies got listed on the stock exchanges last year.

As per a report by FICCI-EY, the online gaming industry had 390 Mn users in 2021 and generated a revenue of $1.3 Bn during the year.

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