Shashi Tharoor introduced a private member’s bill in the Lok Sabha, seeking a regulatory mechanism for an untamed Online Gaming Sector which has seen a lot many players roping in for the last couple of years.
Senior Congress Leader and an MP from Thiruvananthapuram, Tharoor while giving an interview to an English newspaper ET, he told while self-regulatory practices need to be followed by the industry, there is an urgent need to have a statutory framework with government oversight to ensure service providers are following license conditions, to track suspicious betting patterns and to have some control over the money flow, to curb the generation of black money. He said the country needs a regulatory body like the one he has proposed, in his Sports (Online Gaming and Prevention of Fraud) Bill.
“The main purpose of my bill is to preserve the integrity of sports. The bill is primarily divided into two parts for this purpose. One part recognises the offence of sports fraud and prescribes a special procedure to deal with it. The other part acknowledges the fact that the increasing commercial nature of sports increases financial incentives for vested interests to manipulate sporting events, therefore it provides for the regulation of online sports betting activities,” Tharoor said.
Mr. Navkiran Singh,Founder and CEO of Baazi Games while responding on the bill said,”Being a part of this booming industry,We are in favour of the regulatory body as the proliferation of sports leagues and the development of the sports ecosystem(online gaming) in India has increased frauds and illegal activities.”
He added more acknowledging his brand,”Baazi Games has been self regulated since it started. Our processes have been designed to safeguard players and the skill gaming environment.I am expecting from the government and the regulatory body to encourage suggestions from the licensed operators. ”
According to a report submitted by the ALL India Gaming Federation (AIGF), India has 120 million and there has been a surge of 30% in their number in the last three years.
The 276th report of the law commission of India said that the present market for the online gaming is worth $360 million, which is expected to rise to $1 billion by 2021.
With the regulation of Tharoor’s bill, it will allow placing a bet on the outcome of a live sporting event. As fantasy gaming is in relation to an actual sporting event, it will also be covered by the ambit of this bill.
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