E-sports to get legal backing in India under new Online Gaming Bill

New Delhi [India], August 20 (ANI): The Online Gaming Bill was tabled in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, where it was noted that E-sports will be recognised as a legitimate form of competitive sport in India.

For the promotion of E-sports, the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports will establish a dedicated framework. For online social games, the Ministry of Electronics & IT (MeitY) and the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) will extend support to online games that foster educational & cultural values, skill development and social engagement.

Thus, the Bill seeks to encourage the positive aspects of technology while protecting society from the adverse impacts of online money games.

"Among the components of online gaming, the first part is E-sports. It will promote E-sports and grant it legal recognition," a source said on Wednesday.

In the just-introduced Bill to regulate online gaming in India, there will be no punishment for those playing online money games; it is only the service providers, advertisers, promoters, and those who financially support such games who will face the consequences, said sources.

"No punishment for those playing online games. No punishment to victims. Only punishment for service providers, advertisers, promoters and those who support financially to such games," a source noted.

The Online Gaming Bill, introduced in the Lok Sabha, encourages E-sports and online social games while prohibiting harmful online money gaming services, advertisements, and financial transactions related to them. The Bill seeks to completely ban offering, operating, or facilitating online money games, irrespective of whether based on skill, chance, or both, the government said.

Through this legislation, the government aims to promote e-sports and give them legal recognition. This bill will help provide legal support to e-sports. Earlier, there was no legal backing for e-sports, sources added.

"We have interacted with the 3rd segment of the online gaming industry. We also tried to impose GST, but the challenge persisted. We had no option but to choose society for the welfare of people," a source said. (ANI)

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