In direction of safer play: Refining India’s on-line gaming guidelines for a fairer, safer future

India’s Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 (“PROG Act”) marks a big step ahead in establishing a structured and accountable framework for the nation’s quickly rising on-line gaming ecosystem. By formally defining permissible types of on-line gaming and establishing a statutory authority and a nationwide regulatory framework, the Act lays the inspiration for an business that may steadiness innovation with accountability.

Last month, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) invited public feedback on the accompanying Draft Rules that can operationalise the Act. Eight Goals One Foundation (8one) submitted its observations, commending the Government’s initiative and providing strategies to make sure that India’s regulation of on-line gaming stays progressive, strong, and aligned with international practices.

The submission notably focuses on two important points that decide the well being of gaming ecosystems worldwide: sport moderation and participant security, and gambling-like mechanics and monetisation fashions. While the Act is well-intentioned and forward-looking, the feedback spotlight that efficient implementation will rely on how clearly the Rules outline these areas and shut potential loopholes.

Creating safer gaming environments: Game moderation and participant security

The PROG Act acknowledges the potential social and psychological dangers related to on-line gaming, but the Draft Rules presently cease wanting translating that recognition into actionable obligations for platforms.

In follow, on-line gaming areas host giant, interactive communities that mirror social networks in scale and complexity. Without well-defined security requirements, these areas might be weak to harassment, hate speech, gender-based violence, and different types of on-line hurt that may disproportionately have an effect on younger gamers, feminine gamers, and minorities.

8one’s submission recommends embedding an obligation of care inside the guidelines to make consumer safety a central requirement quite than a discretionary selection. This would imply that gaming firms:

• Integrate safety-by-design options into gameplay and platform structure;
• Deploy proactive moderation instruments and groups to establish and handle dangerous behaviour;
• Maintain clear grievance redressal mechanisms accessible to gamers; and
• Publish periodic security and moderation reviews detailing actions taken on consumer complaints.

The goal is to create an ecosystem that not solely regulates misconduct however actively encourages more healthy, extra inclusive participation in on-line gaming. Such provisions would align India’s framework with worldwide requirements below the UK’s Online Safety Act and the EU’s Digital Services Act, each of which centre on consumer safety as a statutory obligation.

Gambling-like mechanics and accountable monetisation

Globally, gaming monetisation fashions have developed to incorporate options that carefully resemble playing, notably loot packing containers, gacha techniques, and different chance-based reward mechanisms. These techniques can exploit randomised outcomes to maintain gamers engaged, typically driving repeated spending behaviour, particularly amongst kids and youthful customers.

While these mechanics might not represent playing within the conventional sense, their design mirrors its psychological results. The absence of clear steering on how such fashions will probably be categorised or regulated below India’s framework might go away room for exploitation.

The submission proposes:

• That randomised reward techniques are recognised as a type of risk-based gaming when involving financial transactions or real-world worth;
• Full disclosure of reward possibilities and pricing earlier than buy;
• Imposing age restrictions or parental consent for entry to video games that includes chance-based monetisation; and
• Transparency in advertising and marketing, notably in how these options are promoted to minors.

By clarifying these points, authentic in-game purchases might be distinguished from mechanisms that encourage compulsive or predatory spending. This might be certain that India’s gaming business grows inside moral and accountable boundaries.

Building belief by clear implementation

Beyond these two areas, the inspiration’s submission additionally suggests refining enforcement and accountability measures, comparable to establishing a central register of penalised entities, defining promoting liabilities throughout the digital advert ecosystem, and addressing loopholes in e-sports occasions structured round prize swimming pools or entry charges.

However, the PROG Act and its Draft Rules mirror a real and vital effort to convey coherence and equity to India’s digital leisure panorama. The alternative now lies in refining and evolving India’s regulation, so it leaves no ambiguity in intent or software.

Ultimately, the effectiveness of this landmark laws will rely on how the implementing authority interprets and enforces its provisions. A clear, constant, and consultative strategy will probably be key to making sure that regulation retains tempo with innovation and international practices, and defending gamers with out stifling creativity.

As India positions itself among the many world’s largest gaming markets, the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, stands as a robust starting. The subsequent step is to make sure that its execution displays the identical foresight and accountability that impressed its creation.

(The creator is the co-author of ‘The Gender Equality Quest in Video Games, ’ a report co-published with UNESCO, Paris, and a member of the Global Mental Health Task Force. He can also be the lead author for the 8one’s submitted feedback on MeitY’s Draft Rules below the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025.)

Disclaimer: The views expressed on this article are these of the creator/authors and don’t essentially mirror the views of ET Edge Insights, its administration, or its members