SROs are mandated to safeguard users from harm, including self-harm and psychological harm, particularly protecting children through parental controls and age-rating mechanisms. Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Guidelines, 2023 introduced rules for online gaming platforms to modify the area. This new group of rules is a breakthrough in the space and an effort to balance innovation and the protection of users. The fresh regulations have defined ‘online games’ as being a ‘game that is offered on the net and it is accessible by a user through a computer resource or an intermediary’. It has also given online flash games the status of intermediaries in-line with social media intermediaries, therefore, putting on some obligations on online gaming intermediaries.

Currently, players who participate in unregulated or offshore online gaming sites have little recourse when they experience issues such as fraud or disputes with all the site related to deposit or withdrawal of these money. In this draught of legislations, the adoption of clear standards and norms for your operation of online gaming sites, in addition to systems for resolving disputes and addressing player complaints, are recommended as you can solutions. According to the regulations, every online gaming intermediary should be equipped with a Grievance Redressal Mechanism and a Grievance officer to be able to effectively address and resolve the concerns and complaints of their users. In addition, every self-regulatory body is forced to establish a mechanism for the time-bound resolution of such user complaints that contain not been resolved or addressed from the grievance redressal device of its affiliated online gaming intermediary. This method must be capable to address concerns that have not really been handled in just a reasonable timeframe. This could give players greater confidence inside the fairness and integrity of the web gaming industry, and could lead to raise the number of individuals participating in these exercises drastically.

The Video Standards Council Rating Board has set out a series of best practice recommendations for free games https://vn12betting.com platforms, which are available on their website. Ratings may be obtained for online flash 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 acknowledged 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 on this page we will understand the overall impact of these rules on safety of players, government revenue, upsurge in amount of users and quality of grievances.

Online and app-based video games are also encouraged to consider obtaining and dis definitelyplaying Pan European Game Information (PEGI) ratings. PEGI ratings provide consumers with the information they need to make informed choices about what their children play. The ratings also use parental controls on video game consoles to allow parents to manage their kids’s access to age-appropriate games.

These rules and regulation are very fulfilling, but there are specific items which should get added in in these guidelines also. The rules should more specifically define what type of games is going to be contained in the online games and be governed by these rules including the differentiation between games of skill and games of chance. The rules should provide harsh steps that must be taken against addictive and financially risky games. They should provide guidelines to guard children by imposing appropriate guidelines and protocols for a user to register for an online game.