The gamble of playing games

CHENNAI: Smartphone usage in India has propelled the Indian gaming industry to hitch its ride to the mobile phone gaming bandwagon, with popular console games being curated for mobile platforms.

While gaming per se, (Angry Birds, Snake and Candy Crush) is still considered harmless, addiction to it now comes with the risk of severe financial losses, mental health issues and suicides.

The proliferation of several gaming platforms that take bets and encourage financial transactions has led to an increase of gaming addicts. While the debate rages on about the distinction between online gaming and gambling, the gaming industry argued at Madras High Court that online rummy involves talent, and it wasn’t purely a game of chance.

Committee to regulate gaming sites

However, the recent and continuous suicides reported in the State due to gamers of online rummy pushed the State government to constitute a committee headed by retired Justice K Chandru to give recommendations for the promulgation of an ordinance to regulate online gaming.

The committee comprises B Karthikeyan, Secretary of Government (Legal Affairs); Professor S Sankararaman, Indian Institute of Technology Madras; Dr Lakshmi Vijayakumar, psychiatrist, founder of SNEHA; and Vinit Dev Wankhede, IPS, additional DGP, State Crime Records Bureau. It will submit their recommendations within 2 weeks.

The expected recommendations include the ways to identify online games that are addictive enough to lead gamers to incur huge financial loss and other offences of grievous nature, including suicides and to suggest whether online games really involve skills or mere tricks. The committee will collate the empirical data on ill-effects of online gaming which results in suicides, financial loss, etc, examine banning of ads on online gaming, examine the feasibility of curtailing online payments used for online gaming and study the algorithm of online games as to whether it can be tweaked to the benefit of online gaming companies.

The committee will also make recommendations on the proposed legislation to rid the menace of such online games.

Banning is pointless

Cyber experts compare banning online gaming on par with instant justice, which doesn’t really protect anyone. “Banning is never a solution to any problem. If a game is banned, it’ll be introduced in another name. So, it’s better for the government to regulate it. The Indian legal system prefers reforming rather than giving instant justice. Similarly, online gaming can be reformed by introducing a national e-gaming policy since the digital world is here to stay,” said Vinoth Kumar Arumugam, a cyber expert based in Chennai.

He also said that awareness about online gaming is important, and it must be created by both the governments and media. Also, parental control on the money aspects involved in gaming is also necessary, said Vinoth.

Perception, exclusion & suggestion

Talking about the challenges in the gaming industry, Sameer Barde, CEO, e-Gaming Federation (eGF), opines that the perception of frivolity and addiction associated with online gaming prevents it from being accepted as a legitimate new form of entertainment.

“Also, there’s a lack of legal clarity due to absence of a parental regulation and standard regulatory framework. This adds to the problem of unscrupulous players, which in turn causes a rise in illegal gaming activities,” he adds.

There is also an absence of a central authority to determine the difference between games of skill and games of chance. He says that there is an incorrect interpretation that online skill gaming is the same as online gambling or betting.

“We must accept that gaming is a form of entertainment. If there’s a clear distinction between games of skill and chance, it’d be easier for the government to decide on what to ban,” points out Sameer.

But even that’s difficult as members of the gaming industry are not included in the committee set up by the government. “We’ll be able to provide information on global standards adopted to regulate gaming and add value to the same. We don’t want to influence the committee. But two weeks is not adequate time to analyse the terms of reference,” he avers.

Recommendations such as daily limits, age limits, no BOTS policy, player money not to be used for operational purposes, self-exclusion and more are helpful. Sameer said that EGF welcomes the Tamil Nadu government’s progressive initiative to protect players.

“The Government would take steps to promulgate an ordinance to regulate online gaming based on the recommendations of the committee in the next two weeks. As the terms are comprehensive, we feel a longer time might be considered by the committee to deliberate on the issues thoroughly,” states Sameer.

Globally, gaming is a well-regulated industry establishing what comprises games of skill. A strong regulation based on these global best practices will allow Indian players to enjoy the new form of entertainment responsibly.

“If the State government implements a robust regulatory framework, it’d enable responsible gaming and help legitimate gaming operators to grow while weeding out the illegal ones. A joint committee will help in exploring the possibility of establishing a licensing regime to regulate the sector as a whole and the skill gaming sector in particular,” he says.

Govt’s initiative to combat addiction

The State Health Department has launched a new initiative against Internet addiction among children to provide special counselling to them at all government hospitals. With the craze for social media and online gaming across all age groups, the initiative is aimed at reducing the adverse impact of online gaming.

The 104 State helpline has also conducted several awareness programmes on internet addiction. The counselling staff is trained to handle cases of gaming addiction or internet addiction to ensure that they refrain from any form of self-harm.

“The callers to the helpline about gaming addiction or certain consequences of gaming, betting or gambling, were in the age group of 13-21 years. But now, it has shifted to elders, who use a lot of mobile apps for games. They lack awareness, and only few people realise they’re addicted but even that’s after they’ve incurred a huge loss,” laments Saravanan, nodal officer at 104 Helpline.