December 28 2022: The Indian Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) will act as the nodal ministry for online gaming, while the Department of Sports under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports will be the nodal agency for "eSports as part of multi-sports events".
Minister of State for IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar tweeted that Meity will soon come out with norms for online gaming intermediaries. “The government is committed to fully encouraging tech innovation, but also to ensure no illegal content/services is possible. “
The Centre notified these amendments to the Allocation of Business Rules recently.
PTI reports that the Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS) has come out in favour of government oversight of online gaming: "The decision is in line with the government’s initiative to push for growth of the AVGC (Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comic) sector and making India a global hub for online gaming," Joy Bhattacharjya, Director-General, FIFS said.
The minister said earlier that the government has come up with Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 which cast a specific obligation on intermediaries, including intermediaries offering online games, to observe diligence.
In an early comment, Parth Chadha, CEO and Co-Founder, blockchain-based e-sports fan engagement startup,STAN says: "At a time when gaming and esports are emerging as the fastest growing sectors of our economy, it is heartening to see the Government of India taking note of it and taking steps to uplift these sectors with increased regulatory clarity. We at STAN welcome this move to appoint nodal Ministries for online gaming as well as esports. This move is also in line with the much-needed agenda to recognize esports as an official sport in our country -- thereby giving a fantastic boost and a level playing field to today's esports athletes, gaming creators, and the community at large, and further also making esports a sunrise sector in India in 2023 and beyond."