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Asserting that online gaming has become a “big menace”, Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu on Friday asked Ashwini Vaishnaw, the Minister for Communications and Electronics and Information Technology, to consult with the Law Ministry to take note.
His direction came after senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi raised the issue during Zero Hour. Modi said that “online gaming has become a big problem for the youngsters in this country” as “crores of youngsters” have become addicted to it.
“Because it is online, it is very difficult to prevent the kids from becoming addicted to this online gaming and now this online gaming has been converted into gambling or betting. Now there is a controversy as to whether it is a game or skill or a game of chance. During pre-Covid, the weekly time spent on mobile gaming was 2.5 hours and 11 per cent of total smartphone time was spent on gaming. During the lockdown, it increased from 2.5 hours to 4 hours and as of today, more than 43 crore people are using online gaming,” Modi said.
He said the online gaming sector, like the crypto industry, has a regulatory lacuna and asked the Government to impose uniform tax on online gaming and come up with a comprehensive framework to regulate the sector.
Naidu then told Vaishnaw to “please take note of what has been said. Consult the Law Ministry and then do the needful. It is a big menace; not a skill game, it is a kill game”.
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