Parents, cos bat for 'responsible gaming' as industry nears formalisation

Parents are worried, but the industry is working to establish mechanisms promoting 'responsible gaming' in India

It's not like Shubham (Name changed) has never played online games earlier. But this time, his mother, Sumitra, is particularly worried.

"He is a grown-up now. He is on it most of the time after school and loses track of time. I feel it has also affected his sleep cycle," she says.

"I do not want to discourage him but it should not come at the cost of his mental peace or meals."

Shubham plays Counter-Strike: Go(CS: GO), a highly competitive video game that is extremely popular in the gaming community. He wants to represent India at the World Esports Championship, one of the world's biggest e-sports tournaments.

In 2019, he shifted to PubG Mobile, but after the Centre's ban on September 2, 2022, he moved back to CS.

"The ecosystem has changed now. Streamers like Shroud and summit1g make a lot of money on Twitch. The international competitions also bring in a lot of money and recognition. I think it will be at par with outdoor games soon," he says.

In the other room, his mother tells Business Standard that the need to ensure a balance has never been higher.

The message is not lost to the Centre. On December 27, it appointed the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) as the nodal ministry for online gaming in India. E-sports was recognised as a competitive sport, and the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports was tasked to look after it.

Days later, it came out with the draft rules for online gaming. They proposed a self-regulatory body, mandatory know-your-customer (KYC) norms and a grievance redressal mechanism, among other measures. A considerable emphasis was laid on fixing the responsibility in case of fraud.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar, minister of state for electronics and IT, said it was important to keep the gaming ecosystem safe. He said that the gaming firms would be asked to be transparent about the deposit and withdrawal rules and distribution of the winnings.

The gaming world also seems to be acting proactively in this direction.

Almost all the companies Business Standard spoke to said they were working on laying clear rules and regulations to promote "responsible gaming".

E-Gaming Federation (EGF), a gaming body, recently launched the "Asli Gamer" campaign to educate and sensitise the players. They have roped in cricketer Shubman Gill and rapper Naezy for it. A rap song was launched to promote daily/monthly limits, self-exclusion in case of losing, playing only for entertainment, and a healthy game-life balance among the players.

"While the operators can follow the best practices, and we are very strict about it, it is also important that the user exercises these practices," its CEO Sameer Barde says.

"We are working with around 1,000 independent gaming influencers to 'nudge' the gamers and promote this," says Poonam Kaul, evangelist of responsible gaming at EGF.

Another gaming body, All India Gaming Federation (AIGF), released a skill games charter with provisions requiring members to educate players and implement self-checks on time and money spent on a game.

"The All India Skill Games Council which was set up under the aegis of AIGF works to ensure that members meet specific criteria and are in conformity with existing laws," says Roland Landers, its CEO and founder.

Gaming platform WinZo says it uses over 100 indicators to predict "over consumption patterns" among gamers.

"We allow our product to be used completely for free if the user wants to use it for free. There are financial and time constraints for users besides self constraints. We are very focused on the safety of women to build a safe and accountable platform that is truly a social interactive entertainment hug," says Paavan Nanda, co-founder of the platform.

Ankur Singh, CEO at Witzeal Technologies, which owns the Big Cash gaming platform, says they are using "high-tech tools" to ensure fair play. Dilsher Malhi, founder and CEO at another platform, Zupee, says they support the Centre's self-regulatory framework.

The industry might still be at a nascent stage in India, but according to several estimates, by 2025, the number of online gamers here is expected to reach 657 million. The annual revenue is expected to touch $5 billion.

According to Geetanshu Bhalla, director of the law firm The Virtual Compliance, the draft is in the right direction, but some changes need to be accommodated.

"Online games based on other revenue models like advertisements, sponsorships are still outside the ambit of the proposed rules. It may create the risk of cyber bullying and the government should broaden the definition," he says.

The Centre has invited recommendations from the public and industry by January 17.

The new rules might finally provide the gaming community and Shubham with a launching pad. But it might not come without a certain extent of responsibility and accountability.