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The online gaming industry on Tuesday signed a voluntary 'Code of Ethics for Online Gaming Industries' at the Indian Gaming Convention (IGC), organised by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI).
This comes at a time when the country’s gaming sector is dealing with the Centre’s new 28 per cent GST mandate on online gaming, which came into effect on October 1.
The document was signed by the Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS), the E-Gaming Federation (EGF), and the All India Gaming Federation (AIGF), which together account for a majority of the gaming industry in India. It will serve as a ‘Joint Declaration of Intent’ by the signatories to commit to “building a safe, trusted, and accountable digital gaming industry with a focus on user protection.”
“We at IAMAI are happy to have curated the Voluntary Code of Ethics for Online Gaming Intermediaries, which has been signed by four industry bodies representing the digital gaming sector in India. This is a progressive step towards building a transparent and accountable gaming ecosystem with a focus on consumer protection,” said Subho Ray, President, IAMAI.
In a written statement, Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar reaffirmed that the Government of India considers online gaming as an important part of its $1 trillion digital economy goal.
“Our approach is to catalyse the startup and innovation ecosystem while ensuring the safety of gamers including children, and unambiguously prohibiting games promoting wagering, addiction and user harm,” he said.
Joy Bhattacharjya, Director-General, FIFS, said that India’s gaming sector is a sunrise sector, with almost 50 crore active users.
“The 'Code of Ethics' for Online Gaming intermediaries reinforces the industry's commitment towards growing the sector, contributing to the Honourable Prime Minister's vision of becoming a $1 trillion Digital economy and creating a safe, trusted and accountable gaming ecosystem," he said.
Anurag Saxena, CEO, EGF, said that the immediate imperative for the industry is the implementation of proposed IT rules by establishing the Self-Regulatory Bodies (SRBs) with regulatory oversight. He added that rules will play a crucial role in creating a safe and transparent gaming ecosystem while harnessing the potential of the sector for greater economic benefits.
“India’s online gaming industry has grown phenomenally so far and the next level of growth is highly dependent on a well-defined regulatory framework. We are committed to building a responsible and ethical industry which puts a strong focus on educating players about gaming responsibly, implementing self-checks and self-exclusion among other things,” added Roland Landers, CEO, AIGF.
