The rapidly growing Indian online gaming sector is facing a serious threat of money laundering. In such a situation, there is a need to take immediate steps to ensure its continued success and protect the strong digital economy of the country.
A report by the Digital India Foundation advocates enacting a law to deal with illegal operators, whitelisting legitimate operators, dealing with misleading advertisements, and incorporating principles of financial crisis and international cooperation.
It added that other important measures include providing public awareness and education so that users can make informed decisions and avoid platforms engaging in deceptive practices.
According to the report, the Indian Real Money Gaming (RMG) sector has become the global market leader with an annual growth of 28 percent from FY 2019-20 to FY 2022-23. The revenue of this sector is estimated to reach US $ 7.5 billion in the next five years.
Arvind Gupta, co-founder of Digital India Foundation, said despite regulatory efforts to curb illegal operators, many platforms circumvent restrictions through mirror sites, illegal branding and inconsistent promises. This situation underlines the urgent need for strict monitoring and enforcement.
Apart from this, due to lack of enforcement mechanism, sporadic action is being taken against notorious criminals, the report said.
