In December 2024, a self-regulatory body of the Indian gaming industry launched a campaign to promote responsible gaming in India. The E-Gaming Federation of India (EGF) started the campaign in Chennai and plans to conduct workshops in various other cities.
Online gaming has made gaming convenient for people. You can, for instance, learn the rummy rules and play from the comfort of your home. But there is a chance that some gamers may over-indulge in it. Besides, irresponsible gaming can also extend to real money games, resulting in loss of time and funds. This is the reason why, like EGF, most leading Indian rummy, poker and other gaming apps promote responsible gaming.
Instilling Responsible Behaviour in Gaming
The plan of raising awareness of responsible gaming by industry bodies like EGF, AIGF and SOGI (Skill Online Games Institute) comes after a lot of research, observation and deliberation. Globally, there have been efforts to implement responsible gaming through strict regulations.
China, for instance, implemented the youth gamer protection regulation in September 2021. Its 3-hour-a-week rule was seen as a success in its annual review. However, it was noted in a survey that 82% of the parents allowed their children to play using their adult IDs.
South Korea, similarly, restricted gaming among children under the age of 16 from midnight to six in the morning. The practical challenge in this type of restriction is that they can be bypassed. Similar restrictions have been proposed in India as well.
The Tamil Nadu Online Gaming Authority proposed a daily gameplay restriction of four hours and a daily deposit limit of ₹5,000 on real money games like rummy and poker. However, such limits can be bypassed if the user switches between multiple gaming platforms and apps.
For now, EGF plans to instil responsible gaming in India through awareness campaigns. This will include a series of interactive workshops across 30 colleges in multiple states, including Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.
Responsible Spending on Gaming Platforms
Game platforms like RummyCulture promote awareness about responsible gaming. They have specific measures in place to ensure that the rummy rules and gaming ecosystem are aligned to encourage this.
To begin with, the platform outright rejects underage players from opening an account. No person below the age of 18 can play on this platform. While we have seen instances of daily gaming restrictions in various countries, a gaming platform generally avoids such strict measures. However, the platform offers gamers the option of setting daily fund deposit limits.
The platform also analyses the gameplay and behaviour of their regular gamers and recommends daily fund add limits. By doing so, the platform uses technology to suggest a responsible gaming limit for the player. However, platforms use the insights gained from this data to take stricter measures as well.
RummyCulture uses the gamer’s behaviour and playing pattern to impose system-defined deposit limits, which the player cannot bypass. This is done on an exception basis and only after carefully evaluating the player’s playing pattern. This is an effective way of ensuring responsible gaming in exceptional cases.
Keeping it Recreational
Games are not meant to be a full-time activity for the average individual, and all legitimate gaming platforms understand it. These platforms remind gamers that gaming is, after all, a recreational activity.
Platforms like RummyCulture continue to encourage players to set predefined limits on non-stop gaming. Through this limit, the system can automatically stop gamers from binge gaming once they exceed the predefined time limit for the day.
Besides, the platform has given its players complete control of their accounts. Players can choose to pause, deactivate or even delete their gaming accounts at any time. The official website of the platform prominently displays the best practices that gamers should adopt.
Some of the best practices recommended by the platform include prioritising one’s daily routine and duties over rummy, avoiding trying to recoup after a series of losses, taking a breather, and, most importantly, keeping it recreational.
Towards a Healthy Gaming Ecosystem
Responsible gaming is an important component for the participant’s well-being, while a safe gaming ecosystem is another. Platforms in India ensure 24X7 monitoring of all ongoing games and use anti-collusion tracking systems. This detects and eliminates any attempt at fraudulent practices and collusion in games.
Cards on these platforms are well-shuffled through Random Number Generators (RNG). RummyCulture has its RNG certified by the internationally accepted iTech Labs. A similar internationally recognised certification is in place to eliminate the presence of bots that disrupt gameplay.
United in Responsibility
Globally and domestically, governments, regulators and platforms are united in their efforts to promote responsible gaming. Authentic platforms in India have taken ample steps to ensure that a healthy gaming ecosystem is in place and that the interests of gamers are always at the forefront.
