Government to set time, spending limits on online games to curb gaming addiction: Report

By Team Asianet Newsable | First Published May 29, 2024, 5:55 PM IST

The Indian government plans to implement time and spending limits like to those in China in an effort to reduce gaming, especially the addiction to online gaming that affects children and young adults.

The Government of India is apparently mulling over implementing stricter regulations on online games in order to address concerns about gaming addiction, particularly among children and young adults, as per reports.

As reported by the Economic Times, there is rising support inside the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology for the imposition of time and spending limitations on both online and real money games, according to sources within the ministry. According to the source, this approach, which is comparable to the limits implemented in China, has acquired a lot of support during recent internal deliberations.

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As a proactive measure, the government is looking at the potential of placing time restrictions on game approval rather than depending only on self-regulatory organisations (SROs). An IT ministry official stated that this method is preferred over game certification as it lessens the possibility of industry influence over policy choices, particularly when young players are involved.

With almost 570 million active players, India is one of the world's biggest gaming marketplaces. Approximately twenty-five percent of these players engage in real-money gambling activities.

The proposed laws seek to limit the amount of money and time that players spend on gaming activities in order to address concerns about gaming addiction. If these regulations come into effect, gaming companies will be tasked with implementing mechanisms to ensure gamers comply with the prescribed limits. For example, limits on daily spending could be tailored based on factors such as a player’s historical expenditure patterns and age demographics.

Government representatives have expressed optimism over the viability of putting these policies into action and have emphasised the necessity of working with the gaming sector to provide workable solutions. While the regulations are still in the discussion stage, there is a consensus within the ministry on the need for robust measures to tackle gaming addiction among the youth population.

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