(1)

The Ministry may, by a notification in the Official Gazette, designate as many online gaming self-regulatory bodies as it may consider necessary for the purposes of verifying an online real money game as a permissible online real money game under these rules.

(2)

An entity which fulfils the following criteria may apply to the Ministry for designation as an online gaming self-regulatory body, namely:—

(a) the entity is a company registered under section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013 (18 of 2013);

(b) its membership is representative of the gaming industry;

(c) its members have been offering and promoting online games in a responsible manner;

(d) its Board of Directors is comprised of individuals of repute and do not have any conflict of interest and possess special knowledge or practical experience suitable for the performance of the functions of such self-regulatory body, and consists of—

(e) its memorandum of association and articles of association contain provisions relating to—

(f) the entity has sufficient capacity, including financial capacity, to perform its functions as an online gaming self-regulatory body under these rules.

(3)

The online gaming self-regulatory body, upon an application made to it by its member in respect of an online real money game, may declare such online real money game as a permissible online real money game, if, after making such inquiry as it deems fit, it is satisfied that—

(a) the online real money game does not involve wagering on any outcome; and

(b) the online gaming intermediary and such online game is in compliance with the provisions of rules 3 and 4, the provisions of any law relating to the age at which an individual is competent to enter into a contract, and the framework made by the online gaming self-regulatory body under sub-rule (8):

(4)

The online gaming self-regulatory body shall publish and maintain on its website, mobile based application or both, at all times, an updated list of all permissible online real money games verified under sub-rule (3), along with the details of such online games including the details of the applicant, the dates

and period of validity of the verification, the reasons of such verification and the details of the suspension or revocation, if any, of verification of any online real money game.

(5)

Every online gaming self-regulatory body shall publish and maintain on its website, mobile based application or both, at all times, an updated list of all its members, whether present or former, the dates of their acceptance as member, their corporate or business-related identity number and other details, and the

details of suspension or revocation of membership of any member.

(6)

The online gaming self-regulatory body may, at any time, after giving the applicant member an opportunity of being heard and for reasons to be communicated in writing, suspend or revoke the verification, if it is satisfied that the online real money game verified by it is not in compliance with the provisions of these rules.

(7)

The online real money game verified under sub-rule (3), and the online gaming intermediary which enables access to such online real money game, shall display a demonstrable and visible mark of such verification stating that the online real money game is verified by the online gaming self-regulatory body

as a permissible online real money game under these rules.

(8)

The online gaming self-regulatory body shall prominently publish on its website, mobile based application or both, as the case may be, a framework for verifying an online real money game, which, among other things, includes the following, namely:—

(a) the measures to ensure that such online real money game is not against the interests of sovereignty and integrity of India, security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States and public order;

(b) the safeguards against user harm, including self-harm and psychological harm;

(c) the measures to safeguard children, including measures for parental or access control and classifying online games through age-rating mechanism, based on the nature and type of content; and

(d) the measures to safeguard users against the risk of gaming addiction, financial loss and financial fraud, including repeated warning messages at higher frequency beyond a reasonable duration for a gaming session and provision to enable a user to exclude himself upon user-defined limits being reached for time or money spent.

(9)

The Ministry may, if it considers it necessary, by a notice in writing, require an online gaming self-regulatory body to furnish to the Ministry or disclose on such body‟s website or mobile based application or both, such information as the Ministry may specify in the notice.

(10)

Before issuing a direction under section 69A of the Act in respect of a permissible online real money game, the Central Government may take into consideration the details published by an online gaming self-regulatory body under sub-rule (4).

(11)

Every online gaming self-regulatory body shall prominently publish on its website, mobile based application or both, the framework for redressal of grievances and the contact details of the Grievance Officer to which an applicant aggrieved by a decision of such body with respect to verification may make a complaint in respect of any matter related to such online real money game or verification which shall be acknowledged by the Grievance Officer within twenty-four hours and resolved within a period of fifteen days from the date of its receipt.

(12)

Where the Ministry is of the view that any verification of a permissible online real money game by an online gaming self-regulatory body is not in conformity with these rules, it may, after giving such body an opportunity of being heard, communicate, in writing, the fact of such non-conformity to that body and direct it to take measures to rectify the same.

(13)

The Ministry may, if it is satisfied that it is necessary so to do, after giving the online gaming self-regulatory body an opportunity of being heard, by order, for reasons to be recorded in writing, suspend or revoke the designation of such body:

Provided that the Ministry may, in the interest of the users of any online game that was verified by such body at the same time or at any subsequent time, give such interim directions as it may deem necessary to any intermediary or class of intermediaries regarding enabling its users to access such online game.

(14)

In this rule, „prominently publish‟ shall mean publishing in a clearly visible manner on the home page of the website or the home screen of the mobile based application, or both, as the case may be, or on a web page or an app screen directly accessible from the home page or home screen.