Will Gaming Companies be Banned in India?
Online gaming draft rules no betting, self-regulatory body
7 January 2023
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Subham Panda
Since 2020, New Delhi has banned a series of wildly popular battle royale games as part of a bruising crackdown on Chinese tech on national security grounds.
Deteriorating relations between New Delhi and Beijing, after a deadly clash on their Himalayan border in mid-2020, sparked a wide-ranging crackdown on Chinese tech.
The Indian Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) has proposed the implementation of Mandatory Know Your Customer (KYC), a grievance redress mechanism, and a self-regulatory body.
All Indian gaming companies will be required to register with a government-formed regulatory body, as per the proposal. Furthermore, Indian law prohibits these companies from engaging in any illegal betting practices involving their users.
This is an attempt to regulate one of the most growing entertainment industries in India. In 2022, Indian gaming companies generated a revenue of $1.5 Bn and are projected to increase their annual revenue to $5 Bn by 2025.
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India's gaming industry experienced a 38 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) between 2017 and 2020, while China's industry saw an 8 percent CAGR and the US gaming industry saw a 10 percent CAGR during the same period, according to reports.
Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of State for Electronics and IT said that 40 to 45 percent of the gamers in India are women, and therefore it was all the more important to keep the gaming ecosystem safe.
The minister stated that the government recognizes the significance of the gaming industry to India's $5 Tn dream economy and reassured that regulations will not impede its growth.
Before taking the final decision, the government will hold consultation calls with investors, CEOs, and stakeholders of the gaming industry. However, the current regulations include a clause that prohibits betting advertisements similar to those of Dream 11.
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