IT Secretary K Krishnan said that the ban on money gaming does not mean doom and sadness for the region, which has sufficient increase in social games and e-sports categories. In an interview with TOI, Krishnan denied that companies were not given enough opportunities to provide their views, saying that action against money games was taken after consensus in political spectrum, to work against institutions, to ensure the welfare of 45 crore crore users who were accustomed to platforms and even committed suicide after loss. Part:Gaming companies say that all this is doom and sadness after banning the new law. Online money gamesDo you agreeI will disagree strongly with the statement. What Bill has done is to clarify the entire gaming area. Many people of the region, who met me over time, also demanded that the way the region is administered, there should be clarity, so that the child did not throw with bath water, literally. Therefore, it is clarity that many members of the industry sought. There is an institutional structure that is created, another demand for the industry, stating that it was not happy or satisfied with the way it was made of self-regulatory bodies under April 2023 amendments for IT rules. They felt that there should be a proper right, and it is now created. I see a lot of possibilities. We have to identify that e-Sports and Social Gaming are very large sections of the overall gaming industry. We should not make the mistake of assuming that money games are the largest part of the industry.Companies say that you have only broken the backbone of the industry by killing incredibly large revenue stream …We have to look at the social crisis of crores of families. More than 45 crore people in India play online money games. Addiction and financial waste of families is a very important factor. So, are we looking at the welfare of crores of families, or are we looking at some companies that probably employ thousands of employees? I am sure those employees will get other jobs. What you find in this case is a consensus in the political spectrum. I have been in any number of Parliament Committee meetings, where the MPs of political spectrum demanded to know what the government was doing to work hard on online money gaming. All options were presented to the political executive and the implications of each step were explained in the context of potential job loss, revenue implications, etc., I think it was a very conscious decision that the welfare of crores of families is something that is to be given priority.Companies deny whether big organized institutions were engaged in terrorist support or money laundering for that case …I am not saying that every company is involved in this activity. However, there are reports from the financial intelligence unit under the Revenue Department, which cite a large number of suspected transactions. There are also reports of other agencies involved in national security. I think we have to go through whatever we say.The companies also alleged that the action signal is against entrepreneurship …This is an unfair statement. I think the government has many programs that support entrepreneurship. Tech Entrepreneurship is being supported, we are supporting those who develop AI models, and AI applications. Is this not support for entrepreneurship? Are people only among the online money gaming industry entrepreneurs?
