While illegal betting apps have been on the radar of the ministry of information and broadcasting for some time now, prohibiting them from advertising on TV and other forms of media, the ministry has placed greater emphasis on keeping these businesses from exploiting customers.
Vikram Sahay, joint secretary of the ministry of information and broadcasting, said it is definitely a challenge to monitor each and every space in the digital world but the ministry has been issuing advisories which have worked to a great extent.
“With the World Cup and Asia Cup around the corner, there will be more of an emphasis on this. We are very concerned about online betting platforms that are leading to financial frauds and major irregularities,” he told Mint on the sidelines of The Indian Digital Gaming Society (IDGS) gaming conclave.
In June last year, the ministry had completely banned these platforms from using any form of advertising to promote these offshore companies. In March, it emphasized that while betting company advertisements have significantly reduced, it is now considering further action to eliminate outdoor media displays, such as hoardings, posters, banners, and auto rickshaw branding.
The ministry is also looking to extend its support to the Indian gaming sector to expand on international collaborations which would help them participate, collaborate, co-produce events or in order for India to become a global hub of the gaming industry, said Sahay.
He said India is now a big visible global player that is being talked about everywhere.
One of the points it is now looking to focus on, which was also in its draft policy, is bringing gaming into education, skilling and innovation for greater development of the sector.
“We think it is very important for us to have a dedicated fund for the Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comic (AVGC) sector which can help in the growth of infrastructure, to develop infrastructure labs and R&D support,” he added.
At this point, gaming is one of the fastest growing sectors but India has not yet created a special division for it like for instance, the Films Division of India which was established as far back as in 1948. “We don’t want to look at the values of having a separate divisions in the industry. That is not the idea. We won’t want to try and create different divisions as it becomes very bureaucratic,” he said.
India’s gaming industry currently is under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. But, a closely related field, digital content still remains under the jurisdiction of Ministry of I&B, which in general industry has reported as problematic. Sahay said at this point, their Ministry was not mulling any amalgamation. “It really makes no difference, as long as the promotion and work is happening in tandem by both ministries,” he said.
The ministry, he said, has also emphasized on developing games on Indian history, culture and such like themes. “We can use our own culture in games the same way we have so many web series that are rooted in our culture. If we are able to have such games that can go international, like Mahabharat would be beneficial since we have a large pool of skilled resources,” he added. The idea would also be to expand the adoption of gaming and how it can be used in education, health and schools.
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Updated: 24 Aug 2023, 11:57 PM IST
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Hasibur Rahaman is a passionate sports journalist. He covers everything from cricket to field hockey, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis of sporting events, both within India and on the international stage.
