TN tightens online gaming checks, seeks details on AI, crypto, player safety | Madurai News
TN TIGHTENS ONLINE GAMING CHECKS, SEEKS AI, CRYPTO AND PLAYER-SAFETY DETAILSRam SundaramMadurai:Tamil Nadu has tightened checks on online gaming companies by asking them to explain game mechanics, payment systems and user protection measures.The state home department has introduced a new registration form for online gaming companies under the state’s 2023 rules incorporating the changes additional regulatory mechanisms. From now on, applicants should disclose whether their games use artificial intelligence, bots or random-number generators.For each game, companies should also state its category, platform, age restriction and subscription model. They should also disclose banking or cryptocurrency payment modes. Applicants should explain their authentication systems and declare whether gambling, betting or wagering was involved. “The payment disclosures could help track how money enters platforms and whether transactions pass through conventional banking channels,” a senior govt official said.Operators also should provide server locations, website addresses and app-store account details. “This could help regulators trace where games are hosted and who controls their distribution,” said the official from Tamil Nadu Online Gaming Authority.The new form also seeks daily, weekly or monthly monetary limits. Operators should disclose playing-hour restrictions, health alerts and self-exclusion facilities.Welcoming this, child psychologist M Divya said, “For schoolchildren, recreational gaming should ordinarily remain within one to two hours a day. Platforms should warn users and parents after an hour and enforce breaks because continuous sessions affect sleep, physical activity and concentration.”Local gaming firms, however, say the revised form raises compliance burdens for Indian operators but does not address offshore platforms where betting is widespread. Such sites, often based in Curacao, Cyprus or Malta, reach Indian users through VPNs, and referrals on WhatsApp or Telegram.Regulatory authorities agree that there should be additional thrust on monitoring offshore platforms. “Domestic operators can be identified and proceeded against, while offshore betting platforms often conceal their ownership, location and money trails. Even with assistance from central agencies and overseas authorities, tracing them remains difficult. Regulators must prioritise these platforms,’’ said V Sathyamoorthy, a retired Tamil Nadu cybercrime inspector.
