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Online Gambling: Gambling games will be curbed, government tightens rules

Santosh Anand. At present, the Indian Cricket League (IPL-2023) is going on in the country. During the IPL match, you must have also noticed that many gaming platforms are offering the greed of winning lakhs of crores of rupees by forming a team. To play in these games, money has to be invested first. This work is done at your own risk. However, the government is now preparing to rein in such money-making or betting games.

Union Minister of State for Information Technology Rajiv Chandrasekhar released a draft of Self Regulated Organization (SRO) recently. In this, many SROs related to online gaming activities will be created. The SRO must publish a framework to protect people from the risk of gaming addiction, financial loss and financial fraud.

SRO will investigate the game
There are many such mobile or online games available on Google Play Store and Apple App Store, which lure the user to gamble. Often people lose their hard earned money in betting, but are unable to complain to anyone. The reason for this is that there are no regulations in the country for online gaming or online betting. For this reason, some online gaming companies are looting people by showing dreams of winning lakhs and crores. The government has now shown strictness in this regard.

Regarding the amendment in the IT Act-2021, it has been said that betting or gambling will no longer be allowed in mobile or computer games available in India. The central government had issued new rules under the IT rules of 2021 regarding betting and fraud in online gaming. Now in the new rule, a special committee will be formed to stop the ‘Game of Chance’ i.e. the game of winning or losing money. The SRO will decide which game will continue and which game will be banned in the country.

Who will be in SRO
All online gaming companies will come under the purview of the new rule. Self Regulatory Organization (SRO) will investigate online games. This organization will not only include people associated with gaming, but also psychiatrists, economists, educationists etc. If users associated with online gaming want, they can also register their complaints with the SRO. In a way, it will act as a censor board for online gaming.

KYC will be necessary
KYC has been made mandatory under the new rule, especially for online games in which money is taken from users or money is linked to the game. If a game is not allowed by SRO, then it can be removed from Google Play Store and Apple Store.

Gaming market is big

About 400 million people play online games in India. Also, the Indian mobile gaming industry is expected to reach USD 5 billion by 2025. The country’s mobile gaming industry has grown at a CAGR of 38 percent between 2017 and 2020, compared to just eight percent in China and 10 percent in the US. Not only this, the proportion of users paying for gaming in India has grown at the fastest rate in the world for the last two years. This increased from 40 percent in 2020 to 50 percent in 2021.

According to a report by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), the revenue of paid-based games in India has increased by 26 percent, while the number of paid players is expected to increase from 80 million in 2020 to 95 million in 2021. Went. According to the Mobile Gaming Report 2022, the people of Uttar Pradesh are at the forefront of playing online games. It is followed by Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Bihar and Bengal.

Gaming can cause many disadvantages
Malware and virus risk from free version games.
Cybercriminals can steal identities.
If you use the same login and password for the game, then it can be stolen.
Hackers can steal data from free game app.
During chatting, an attempt is made to entice with phishing emails.
Data can be used for cyberbullying.
save yourself from dangerous game
Always create strong passwords.
Use two-factor authentication.
Keep personal information safe.
Do not download add-ons, cheat codes, etc. from unofficial sources.
Start playing the game only after knowing about the hidden charges.
Don’t forget to update the software.
Avoid downloading and playing games with the help of a VPN.

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