SROs are mandated to protect users from harm, including self-harm and psychological harm, protecting youngsters through parental controls and age-rating mechanisms particularly. Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2023 introduced rules for online gaming platforms to regulate the area. This new set of rules is a breakthrough in the space and an effort to balance innovation and the protection of users. The brand-new rules have defined ‘online games’ to be a ‘game that is offered on the net and is also accessible by way of a user through a computer resource or an intermediary’. It in addition has given online flash games the status of intermediaries in-line with social media intermediaries, therefore, putting on some obligations on online gaming intermediaries.
The Video Standards Council Rating Board has set out a series of best practice recommendations for online flash games https://vn12betting.com platforms, which are available on their website. Ratings may be obtained for online games via PEGI itself or via the International Age Ratings Coalition (IARC). IARC offers games companies a streamlined process for obtaining PEGI age ratings for online games by filling in an online questionnaire. According to the guidelines, online games must register with a self-regulatory body, and only games that have been registered and recognized by the body will be able to operate lawfully in India. The regulations also stipulate that online gaming intermediaries must do further due diligence and provide user protections. Further in this posting we will understand the overall impact of these rules on safety of players, government revenue, upsurge in number of resolution and consumers of grievances.
Additional due diligence must be observed by significant social media advertising and marketing intermediaries under Rule 4, with sub-rules inserted that focus on any permissible online real cash game.
By implementing these modifications to the regulations, they shall supply money-making effects and defend consumers from any hazards. Regulation will not only protect players from financially risky games, but also from games like “Blue Whale”, in which users were allegedly assigned online challenges or tasks that ultimately led them to self-harm or commit suicide. These games have been connected to a number of deaths throughout the globe and are believed to be especially deadly due to the fact that they frequently entail anonymity and are difficult to track. This comprehensive regulation of online gaming would presumably reduce the regulatory complexity at the state level, which has been a key hurdle for the industry. For example, the laws of the states of Assam, Odisha, and some part of Telangana explicitly ban online games with stakes/real money in India and cannot be played at any cost. These laws will go a long way toward safeguarding consumer interests and encouraging the prudent and transparent growth of the business.