New Delhi: Alerted by the high volume of transactions and scale of money involved, the Centre is undertaking a deep look into the multi-billion dollar online gaming industry, red-flagged by investigating agencies for fraud and money laundering, ThePrint has learnt.
Security establishment sources told ThePrint that various ministries, departments, and agencies were collectively working on a comprehensive report on the extent of growth of the online gaming industry and its national security ramifications to recommend regulations for the industry.
The primary aim was to bring the online gaming companies under anti-money laundering laws, subjecting them to stricter compliance and financial scrutiny, to curb unchecked mushrooming of online gaming apps—already under probe—duping users, sources in the government said.
While the Ministry of Finance initiated the proposal, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and the MHA are actively collaborating to develop a regulatory framework.
The task of writing the report is with the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). The work started at the beginning of this year, but the sources said the report was not yet ready.
The sources added that the report would also look into online skills-based and non-skills games and how the games generate revenue, dupe investors and launder money.
They said the I4C took up the job after a consensus within the government to regulate platforms, such as Dream11, Zupee, Games24x7, PokerBaazi, and more.
The sources added that internal deliberations were going on to finalise the committee, which will eventually recommend the regulations.
The sources also explained that betting and online gaming are state subjects, with individual states already having laws to regulate them, and that the Centre was currently discussing steps to tighten the loopholes amid rising concerns around user harm, financial fraud, and national security.
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Money laundering, unaccounted funds
While the Ministry of Finance initiated the proposal, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and the MHA are actively collaborating to develop a regulatory framework.
“There is a growing concern over the unaccounted funds circulating via offshore betting platforms, with millions of users engaging in online gaming daily,” a source said. “The lack of clarity on which platforms are legal or illegal has added to the complexity, highlighting the need for the distinction.”
In April 2023, the MeitY amended the IT Rules, 2021, introducing the concept of “permissible online real money games”. However, progress on the bill stalled after the ministry did not notify any self-regulatory body to evaluate and approve online games.
Additionally, the amendments did not define online games of skill as opposed to online games of chance, a crucial distinction to see if the game is legal. While online games of skill are legal under the 1867 Public Gambling Act, online games of chance remain banned in most states in India.
Online games of skill are where the knowledge or skills of the player determine outcomes. Poker, chess and rummy games, for instance. Online games of chance are where pure luck determines outcomes—lottery and betting games.
“However, the reality is that many online games of skill also function as illegal betting apps. Lakhs are downloading these apps daily and getting duped, with their money going offshore,” a second source said. “There have been discussions. We have flagged the issue as serious. We need solutions. We need to legalise and regulate aspects of the industry.”
On money laundering risks linked with online gaming platforms, the source said fraudsters had opened bank accounts using bogus KYC credentials, stashed thousands of crores in those accounts, and held the money through fake identities. “A web of shell companies and offshore call centres, combined with a robust hawala network, support the funds. People get duped every minute. Even if the amounts seem small, the scale is enormous.”
The source added that the absence of oversight had led to the generation of unaccounted wealth. “Mandatory KYC norms and transaction monitoring mechanisms should be there so that suspicious activities are flagged,” the source said.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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