New Delhi. The rapidly growing Indian online gaming sector faces 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 creating a task force to tackle illegal operators, whitelisting legitimate operators, tackling misleading advertising and incorporating principles of financial integrity 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.
“Despite regulatory efforts to curb illegal operators, many platforms circumvent restrictions through ‘mirror sites’, illegal branding and inconsistent promises,” said Arvind Gupta, co-founder of Digital India Foundation. “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.