MeitY to take a call on online gaming SRBs in at least 3 months

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Sources have reported that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) will likely take further calls related to the formation of Self-Regulatory Bodies (SRBs) for regulating the Indian online gaming industry. The ministry has taken the decision, as the industry bodies failed to come up with an SRB within the stipulated deadline of July 6.

Notably, MeitY has come up with a statement that it will require at least three months to come up with an SRB. This is due to additional focus given to the data protection bill, and will be raised in the upcoming session of the parliament. Furthermore, Amit Agrawal, ex-additional secretary for MeitY, has taken charge as the CEO of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), leading to a restructuring of the ministry.

The industry bodies, namely All India Gaming Federation (AIGF), Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS), and E-Gaming Federation (EGF) were the industry bodies that filed applications for the formation of SRBs. The applications, which were filed under two different collectives, were in association with as many as 120 gaming companies.

Industry is awaiting the notification of SRB, says AIGF CEO Roland Landers

Talking about the MeitY’s development as per Inc42, Roland Landers, the AIGF CEO said “We understand that a few organisations have approached MeitY and submitted applications for designation as an SRB under the gaming rules. Currently, the industry is awaiting notification of SRBs by the government.”

Landers further added that the co-regulatory process and the rules thereunder will boost the Indian gaming industry. He also added about the importance of SRBs for safety and security of gamers, and the opportunity for startups to develop more games.

The EGF and the FIFS have also partnered in order to lead the formation of SRB. Speaking on this, EGF Secretary Malay Kumar Shukla also said that gaming startups are eager on getting associated with the SRB proposal.

While MeitY’s official notification related to the online gaming rules was released earlier in April, the industry bodies also released draft models to its members to form the SRB. However, unable to abide by the ministry’s deadline, the industry bodies will now have to follow the SRB(s) whose formation will be led by MeitY itself.

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