If the industry does not come up with a proposal for forming self-regulatory organisations (SROs) for online gaming in the next one month, then the government will have no choice but to take over that task, minister of state for electronics and information technology, Rajeev Chandrasekhar said on Friday.
Online gaming rules were notified on April 6 and the industry was given a three-months time to come up with their proposal for forming SROs.
However, two months have passed but the industry has not come up with any concrete proposal regarding formation of SROs, Chandrasekhar said. As a result, it is the government which is taking decisions on which online games are permissible and which are not, he added.
According to the rules, online games which involve money need approval of SROs. Online games involving betting and gambling have been banned.
This way, the government has steered clear of the earlier nomenclature which categorised online games into game of skill and game of chance.
The idea behind industry forming SROs was that they and not the government determine whether a real-money game is permitted to operate in the country or not.
The industry-led SROs, however needs to be approved by the government. The idea is to have three SROs, which would including people with experience in online gaming, an educationist, an expert in the field of psychology and individuals dealing with protection of child rights, among others.
Upon application by an online real money gaming company, the SRO will have to declare it as a permissible online real money game for a period not exceeding three months based on the information provided by it. The self-regulatory body can then carry further inquiry and take a decision accordingly with regard to certification.
On the Digital India Bill, Chandrasekhar said that the government will come out with a draft for public consultation for the same by the end of the month. The government is currently doing pre-consultations on the Bill, which will focus on openness of internet, safety, trust and accountability as basic principles in detail. The government is also mulling regulation of emerging tech and AI from the prism of user harm.