Maharashtra government to submit proposal for online gaming ban: Details

The Maharashtra government have come up with a proposal to ban online games because they are worried about addiction and crimes related to them. Maharashtra's Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis told the Legislative Assembly that the state has requested the Union Information and Technology Minister to look into this issue. Since most online games have their bases outside the country, only the central government holds the power to ban or restrict their usage. The state government doesn't hold the right to infringe on such matters.

This news comes as a shock to the Indian gaming community, which has been on a roll lately. This proposal, if enforced, may have repercussions on the growing gaming ecosystem of the country. However, the rise in the number of criminal cases over many online games is not a myth, and important steps need to be taken to curb the nomadic behaviour that some of the online games are inculcating in the nation's youth.

Maharashtra Proposes Online Gaming Ban Amid Rising Addiction and Crime

Maharashtra's chief minister Devendra Fadnavis was prompted to take this step after the escalation in criminal cases over gaming addiction. The steady rise in the number of cases involving suicides and debts has made the situation alarming. As per one of the members of the Legislative Assembly, there was an incident where a person sold every bit of his possessions to satisfy his addiction towards gaming. This made him financially broke, and he resorted to ending his misery by taking the lives of himself and his family.

Most of these cases have emerged from the addiction to real-money gambling games. However, it often gets difficult to differentiate between what is ‘luck’ and ‘skill’ in terms of gaming. ‘Luck’ and ‘Skill’ in gaming are divided by a fine line. However, the entire gaming genre has to take the bashing whenever such unfortunate incidents come to the forefront. More information on this proposal of Maharashtra's Chief Minister is awaited.

Call for distinction on Real Money Gaming and Skill-Based Games.

Real money gaming and skill-based games have always been a hot topic of debate. Real money gaming typically involves gambling games and gacha or loot boxes, where the percentage of winning is not defined or is random. On the other hand, skill-based games like BGMI require meticulous thinking, decision-making and incorporating strategies. As per the sources, the members who were part of the discussions were thorough with the differences of these gaming genres. The sources cited that the members acknowledged that the gambling games were mostly responsible for such unfortunate incidents.

This proposal could be an important development in the next chapter of Indian gaming. The Indian gaming industry is currently worth over a billion dollars, and any hasty decision will be a hurdle in its meteoric rise. With Indian esports athletes eyeing the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, both fans and players shall be keeping an eye on the development of this story. The government is yet to comment on this proposal.