"Would Like India To Be Global Game-Making Hub": IT Minister On Gaming Bill

The online gaming bill will help promote the country as a game manufacturer's destination while also discouraging online gambling, which has destroyed thousands of families, Union IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told NDTV today. It is because of the horrific results of the online money gaming, the bill had overwhelming support, he added.

The bill - which proposes complete ban on offering, operating, or facilitating online money games, be it based on skill, chance, or both -- was passed by the Lok Sabha today. Offering or facilitating online money gaming would draw a fine of Rs 1 lakh and a 3-year jail term. 

There are three segments in the Online gaming sector, Mr Vaishnaw told NDTV in an exclusive interview. 

"This bill basically promotes two of the three segments which is eSports and online social gaming. It discourages online money gaming and the reasons are very clear for that," he said.

The two sectors were encouraged as it is very important that India is becoming a game making hub, said the minister whose department will help devise schemes to Encourage E-Sports and Online Social Gaming. 

"There are so many employees who are working for start-ups and other companies which make games, which write games and there's a huge creator's economy coming out in the country.  We are promoting that through IICT, through Waves, that's a big segment that we are promoting," he said.

The harmful effects of online money gaming have been noticed over the past few years and are very significant, the minister said.  

"There are families which are getting destroyed, there are so many cases where the entire savings of a family goes away in the online money games.  WHO has actually identified and declared online money gaming as a 'disorder' and the reasons they have given are psychological changes which happen. It is like you cannot control once you start doing it and because of that so many different harmful effects in the society are visible," he said. 

Besides, money gaming has sparked multiple economic offences that include money laundering.