Key Points

In its letter, EPWA expressed gratitude to the government for recognizing the importance of regulation in a growing industry but flagged concerns over the "blanket ban" on Money Games proposed under the bill.

The association, which represents a wide community of professional gamers, esports athletes, chess players, streamers, developers, and tournament organizers, argued that the current form of the bill does not distinguish between games of skill and games of chance.

It stated, "We are writing to you with a humble request to consider that the blanket ban proposed under the new Online Gaming Bill raises serious concerns for our community and the future of Indian skill-based gaming".

According to EPWA, this lack of differentiation threatens to derail the livelihoods of lakhs of Indians who earn through competitive esports, coaching, streaming, sponsorships, content creation, and organizing digital events.

"For lakhs of Indians, gaming is not just play, it is work and our livelihood," the letter stated, citing the contributions of players like Moin Ejaz, captain of India's Dota 2 team, and Tirth Mehta, who won a bronze medal in esports at the 2018 Asian Games.

The association highlighted four major concerns, the threat to gamer livelihoods, misclassification of skill-based games, the risk of users shifting to illegal offshore platforms, and the potential setback to India's growing global presence in esports.

EPWA warned that banning legitimate platforms could push users toward unregulated operators that offer no consumer protection and pose national security risks.

It stated, "If legitimate Indian platforms are banned, users will turn to unregulated offshore operators that offer no consumer protection, are often fraudulent, and pose well-known national security threats".

Earlier while speaking on the provisions of the bill, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said, "Our purpose of this bill and this exercise has been ongoing for almost three plus years, where we have deeply engaged with industry to see how the harmful impact can be prevented, contained and reduced. Our objective has been to promote and encourage the good parts of it, making India a game-making hub, we have set up the IICT which is Indian Institute of Creative Technologies and gaming is one of the verticals, so our focus is on making sure that the better parts, the good parts which are not harming the society get promoted and encouraged whereas the harmful impact on the society can be contained and reduced.

Meanwhile supporting regulation, the EPWA urged the government to frame a legal structure that distinguishes between skill and chance-based games, protects player rights, and ensures data privacy and safe gaming environments.

The letter also added "We are not opposed to regulation. We welcome it. But we urge the Government to avoid a one-size-fits-all ban".

The body emphasized that India, with over 450 million online gamers, cannot afford to stifle an industry that contributes to both the digital economy and the country's growing international reputation in Esports."

- ANI