Premier gaming bodies laud Govt’s move to form inter-ministerial panel for online gaming

The Government has set up an inter-ministerial panel to work on regulations for the online gaming industry and identify a nodal ministry to look after the sector, an official source said on Thursday (May 26, 2022). The seven-member panel includes secretaries of home affairs, revenue, industries and internal trade, electronics and IT, information and broadcasting, sports and Niti Aayog. The panel will look into various aspects to promote online gaming and frame regulatory mechanisms for the segment, protection of gamers, ease of doing business, among others, the source said.

Welcoming the decision, Roland Landers, CEO, All India Gaming Federation, said, “It is a good day for the online skill gaming industry and we laud the Government’s move to take a step towards setting up a task force to work on the guidelines for this sunrise sector. We have been championing to havecentral guidelines for this sectorfor over a decade now as the apex industry body for online skill gaming and it is rewarding to see our efforts getting acknowledged. This task force will not only examine issues faced by the online skill gaming industry, but also understand theglobal best practices and will help in bringing in a comprehensive and uniform central regulatory regime for a responsible, transparent and safe online skill gaming environment. This is a step in the right direction to achieve maximum potential of the burgeoning online skill gaming industry and is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of making India's digital gaming sector a global powerhouse.”

Adding further, he said, “In the recent past, Hon’ble Prime Minister and the Finance Minister have recognised the potential of online skill gaming sector and how it employs youth, promotes and fosters innovation in tech along with contributing to the overall economy of the country. We are optimistic that the guidelines being formed by the task forcewill be positive and will be happy assist the experts to build on the framework.”

Meanwhile, Bimal Julka, Chairman, Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS); Harsh Jain, Co-Founder, Dream11 & President, FIFS; Pratik Gosar, Co-Founder, Fantasy Akhada; and Santosh Smith, Founder, Khelo Fantasy, had a meeting recently with Union Minister of State for Entrepreneurship, Skill Development, Electronics and Information Technology, Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

Reacting to the recent developments in the online gaming spectrum, especially the government’s initiative to set up an Inter-Ministerial Task Force to regulate online gaming, the Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports in a release issued, said, “We welcome the Union Government’s decision to set up Inter-Ministerial Task Force (IMTF) for online gaming. This step indicates the impetus that the government is willing to provide for the growth of India’s online gaming industry. The task force is a big step in creating regulatory certainty for the nascent & fast-growing online gaming industry. The task force has been entrusted with examining issues faced by the online gaming industry, understanding global best practices in legal and legislative frameworks, and bringing in a comprehensive and uniform regulatory regime for a responsible, transparent and safe online gaming environment, which is a step in the right direction.”

The Federation added, “The formation of IMTF is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of making India’s digital gaming sector a global powerhouse. A unified regulation will go a long way in removing the complexities and compliance burden on the online gaming platform operators. We feel the regulatory actions in the right direction will positively impact India’s sunrise industry.”