India's online gaming industry on Monday urged the government to set up a self-regulatory body to standardize regulations for the entire online skill gaming sector and not just the fantasy sports industry.
The Online Rummy Federation (TORF) said in a statement that India’s skill gaming industry suffers from the same byzantine set of state-by-state laws and regulations as it happens with fantasy sports. “There is an equal, if not a larger need, to regulate the broader skill gaming industry,” it said.
Niti Aayog, a policy think tank of the Government of India, has recently pitched for setting up a single self-regulatory organization for the online fantasy sports industry to be governed by the independent oversight board, and also had suggested restricting online fantasy games to users of 18 years and above.
In a draft report titled "Guiding Principles for the Uniform National-Level Regulation of Online Fantasy Sports Platforms in India", the Aayog had said that there is a public interest in the fantasy sports industry receiving the government recognition as an industry and having its own identity. A single self-regulatory organisation for the fantasy sports industry should be recognised by the government, it had added.