India Addresses Gambling Addiction Concerns
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology of India has felt the need to adjust and
reform the online gaming rules, as the industry grows across their country.
The Indian government has suggested new rules for regulating online gaming, These rules will
run on the Indian Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code, which changes have
been debated over. The MEITI (The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology of
India, amongst others, has noticed an increase in public concern over gambling addiction, and
this has become even more prominent among minors. These regulations, for the first time, will
oversee new aspects and changes in online gambling. One of the new aspects being overlooked
and debated about is what is called the “grey area”, or the “thin line”, between when it is for
entertainment and when it comes down to gambling practices.
One of the new rules is that the term online game(s), includes every game that is done online or
when the player expects to earn winnings from their deposit beforehand. There would be a group
of men and women, predetermined by the company and the Indian government, that is currently
involved in online gaming, and sports, someone who is involved in online players’ best interests,
and a professional with a psychology and preferably consumer education background, as well as
people who know how to enact and balance these policies.
This will include government workers and someone from gambling companies who know about
identity verification and how to have a proper account set up to protect all users. The idea of this
is to make sure children and families are being protected to the best of the industry’s ability. The
task of this group of people is to expand on the rules set in place right now for online gaming.
This means preventing, wherever possible, the suffering and harm that comes from gaming and
gambling addiction. The government would be the one, in the end, to enforce consequences, such
as suspension, to those violating the new rules and guidelines or any criminal activity.
