Virtual gaming platforms gained traction during the pandemic-induced lockdowns when users took to online gaming in a big way. From rummy and poker to fantasy gaming, there are multiple categories involving real money, with firms such as Dream11, Mobile Premier League, Rummy Passion and Ace2Three gaining popularity by advertising and sponsoring important events. The rapid growth, and the real danger of the negative impacts of real money virtual gaming advertisements, prompted the Advertisements Standards Council of India (‘ASCI’) has developed advertising guidelines to ensure users are aware of the financial and addiction risks. The Government, via the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, The Department of Consumer Affairs as well as Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, have given these ASCI guidelines their full support and backing to comprehensively address growing concerns about the potentially misleading and harmful advertisements in the sector.

The ASCI guidelines for “Online Gaming for Real Money Winnings” will be effective from the 15th December 2020 and apply to advertisements that are legally permitted.[1]

The ASCI guidelines provide as under:

1. No gaming advertisement may depict any person under the age of 18 years;

2. Every such gaming advertisement must carry the disclaimer regarding the financial risk that may be involved and may be addictive and that one should play responsibly and at his/her own risk;

3. Such a disclaimer should occupy no less than 20% of the space in the advertisement;

4. It should also SPECIFICALLY meet disclaimer guidelines 4 (i) (ii) (iv) and (viii) laid out in the ASCI Code[2];

5. Also in audio/video form the disclaimer should carry the lines “This game involves an element of financial risk and may be addictive. Please play responsibly and at your own risk.” Such a disclaimer must be placed in normal speaking pace at the end of the advertisement and the disclaimer must be in the same language as the advertisement;

6. For audio-visual mediums, the disclaimer needs to be in both audio and visual formats;

7. The advertisements should not present ‘Online gaming for real money winnings’ as an income opportunity or an alternative employment option;

8. The advertisement should not suggest that a person engaged in gaming activity is in any way more successful as compared to others.

Also in Mohammed Rizvi v Union of India filed before the Madras High Court the Petitioner seeks action against cricket personalities, including the captain of India’s cricket team Virat Kohli and former cricketer and current Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) chief Sourav Ganguly, and few actors like Tamanna Bhatia, Rana Daggubati, Prakash Raj and Sudeep for endorsing fantasy gaming services, alleging that online gambling is pushing Indians into penury and forcing people to commit suicides.[3]

The guidelines have been developed to guide advertisers to so that their advertisements do not violate the ASCI code pertaining to misleading advertisements (Chapter I), or of being harmful to society or individuals (Chapter III). These guidelines would be applicable to the content of all advertisements of “Online gaming for real money winnings”. Some advertisers have proactively put disclaimers to warn the public on issues related to such products/services. However, there is a need felt by ASCI to standardize the same as well as ensure that all advertisements in the category carry the requisite warnings.

The key issue is that many of these users of these virtual gaming apps come from ordinary and middle-class families, who may lose their hard earned money. The frequent use of celebrities in many of these advertisements make them more attracted to such gaming platforms, and consumers tend to trust these celebrities and models blindly. Considering the fact that these games are highly addictive, these advertisements end up being not just misleading, but also harmful to youth and society.

Industry experts believe that there will be no impact on the business on the back of these guidelines and that the guidelines may have no significant impact on the acquisition of users. Most online gaming already uses well known celebrities and users are hooked to their games. These new ASCI guidelines in a sense will have as much of an impact as the Mutual Fund ad disclaimer, whereas there are few others who believe that there will be a short-term impact but eventually it will help the industry move in the right direction.[4]

The online gaming industry in India is expected to grow to $1 billion by 2021 from the current $360 million – a growth rate of 20 percent – with the online gamers community reaching 310 million by 2021.[5] The guidelines for the advertisement of such virtual games is to inform advertisers as well as members of the public what criteria we will use to scrutinize advertisements against which complaints will be received by ASCI.

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has issued an advisory asking all private television broadcasters to follow guidelines issued by the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) for advertisements relating to online gaming, fantasy sports, etc.[6]

In recent years, some of the States such as Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, etc have reportedly banned or are looking to regulate virtual games involving financial wagering and bets for real money considering the disturbances created among youth and society in general because of the virtual games which entail an element of risk through financial losses and may also be addictive in nature. Such games fall under state jurisdictions, and from time to time, they may be allowed or disallowed through notifications or enactment of laws.

Thus, it is outside the purview of ASCI and up to the Government to look into the legal issues pertaining to gaming and the appearance of their advertisements in specific media which are outside of ASCI purview must be taken up with the concerned sector regulators within the concerned Government. However, these ASCI guidelines aim at making the online gaming for real money based endorsements by such celebrities more transparent, responsible and safer.

– Adv.Vaidehi Harshad Samant

Advocate, Mumbai

Reference

[1] https://www.ascionline.org/images/pdf/asci-guidelines-for-online-gaming-for-real-money-winnings-new.pdf.  

[2] Pg 22, 23 & 24 of https://www.ascionline.org/images/pdf/code_book.pdf.  

[3] https://www.livelaw.in/news-updates/madras-high-court-issues-notices-to-virat-kohli-saurav-ganguly-tamannah-bhatia-etc-for-endorsing-fantasy-league-apps-165407.

[4] https://www.financialexpress.com/brandwagon/asci-rolls-the-advertising-code-ball-on-the-roulette-wheel-will-it-win-the-game/2135927/. 

[5] https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/online-gaming-industry-in-india-to-hit-1-bn-by-2021-117051000678_1.html.

[6] http://ddnews.gov.in/national/government-asks-private-tv-channels-follow-asci-guidelines-online-gaming-and-fantasy-sports.