There has been a new development from the Government of India regarding the status of online gambling apps in India from the Real Money Games (RMG) sector. For a long time, several online fantasy gambling apps have misled everyone and identified themselves as gaming apps in the country. Now, this misleading tactic will no longer be the case.
Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar has revealed that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) is planning to ban certain types of online “games” in India. As per the announcement, it is evident that the government is referring to gambling apps. Let’s check everything you need to know around this move.
Gambling Apps To Be Banned In India
The plan involves the ban of apps that involve any form of real money betting, as reported by ANI. The government will also ban games that have the potential to harm users. However, it is still unclear what sort of harm Mr. Chandrasekhar was referring to. It will likely pertain to issues such as data privacy, or apps that do not have an effective framework in place to protect its users from cybercrimes such as hacking, cyber bullying and harassment. The government will also look to ban any games or apps that are addictive in nature.
“For the first time we have prepared a framework regarding online gaming, in that we will not allow 3 types of games in the country. Games that involve betting or can be harmful to the user and that involves a factor of addiction will be banned in the country,” Rajeev Chandrasekhar told ANI.
The Union Minister also added that a regulatory body will be established within 90 days of the regulations being notified. In the meantime, the government will be making decisions on which games will continue to operate in India and which games or apps will be banned from the country.
IGN India has reached out to MeitY for clarification between video games, gambling apps, and online games and if it will take any action on video games as well. We will update the copy as and when we get a response.