Indian Online Gaming Firms Planning to Relocate Could Violate Laws

Companies affiliated with the E-Gaming Federation and All India Gaming Federation as well as several fantasy sports startups plan on approaching state governments regarding implementation of rules notified by the central government this year.

MeitY has proposed new rules aimed at regulating gaming intermediaries. Furthermore, these new regulations aim to ensure user safety by restricting access to games that pose potential threats to India’s sovereignty and integrity as a nation, security of the state or friendly relations with foreign states or public order owing to their addictive properties.

However, they still lump all gaming intermediaries together regardless of risk and require them to adhere to KYC requirements, placing an undue burden on young start-ups trying to compete against global players. Furthermore, this rule grants the Union government overly broad powers when classifying an entity as an online gaming intermediary and exercising regulatory power over them for KYC purposes – an overreach of central government discretion without an underlying legal basis, according to experts.