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ARTICLE · 10 AUGUST 2023

Inclusion Of Online Gaming Under The IT (Intermediary Guidelines And Digital Ethics Media Code) Rules, 2021: ‘An Imperfect Solution?'

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Despite the rise of the online gaming sector in the past few years, the sector has been subjected to a ‘regulatory maze' of state legislations as ‘Betting and Gambling' find place under...

IndiaMedia, Telecoms, IT, Entertainment
Abhimanyu Chopra
Abhimanyu Chopra
Aman Chaudhary
Aman Chaudhary
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INTRODUCTION

Despite the rise of the online gaming sector in the past few years, the sector has been subjected to a 'regulatory maze' of state legislations as 'Betting and Gambling' find place under the 'State List' contained in the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India, 1950 ("Constitution"), these state-specific legislations have been in effect since decades but are time-worn and ill-equipped to regulate the impact caused due to the Internet and gaming in the online space.

Given the regulatory lacunae governing this space, the Central Government felt the need to tighten the knot over online gaming companies and has been consistently taking steps to achieve greater regulation in the online gaming space. The Central Government, vide a notification dated December 23, 2022, had amended the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961 ("AOB Rules") whereby it has added 'Matters relating to Online Gaming' within the scope of the Ministry of

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