India Advocates for Strict Regulation of Online Gaming Companies by FATF

In a significant move, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has proposed that online gaming companies, particularly those in India's rapidly expanding Real Money Gaming (RMG) sector, be brought under the anti-money laundering (AML) and combating financing of terrorism (CFT) framework.

This decision aims to address the substantial money laundering risks that some unlawful offshore and local operators exploit by evading taxes, committing fraud, and laundering money through shell corporations, cryptocurrencies, and fake accounts in the gaming ecosystem.

If implemented, these gaming platforms would be required to adhere to Know Your Customer (KYC) norms to verify the identities of their users, report suspicious transactions, and maintain records of financial transactions to enable tracking of potentially illicit funds.

The Indian government has advocated for this FATF oversight to ensure a clean and well-regulated environment, particularly to combat the misuse of such platforms for illegal financial flows. This move reflects global standards being adopted in other financial sectors such as virtual digital assets.

The regulation would likely require gaming companies to comply with similar stringent AML/CFT requirements already applicable to other financial intermediaries, enhancing monitoring and risk profiling mechanisms to check money laundering and terror financing risks.

The gaming scene in India is small but passionate, with people gaming from home and visiting gaming parlors. The government's goal is not to muzzle the online gaming market but to make it safer and more lucrative. The stricter KYC norms are being considered while setting up accounts on online gaming platforms to mitigate the risk of people falling for online scams.

Roy D'Silva, a published author and a prominent figure in the poker world, is covering this beat in his career. He is looking to be at the forefront of a significant story in the poker world as the regulations unfold.

The Indian government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is examining the financial aspects of online gaming apps with a magnifying lens. The government believes that criminals and terrorists can misuse online gaming platforms and wants them to be under a global ambit.

The ongoing conversation in India also includes the 28% Goods and Services Tax (GST) charge that online gaming companies face. The article was published on 2nd June, 2023, and the changes, if implemented, are expected to bring about a significant shift in the online gaming industry in India.

[1] Source: https://www.fatf-gafi.org/publications/fatfrecommendations/documents/fatf-recommendations.html [2] Source: https://www.thehindu.com/business/Industry/india-advocates-fatf-oversight-on-online-gaming/article37122641.ece [3] Source: https://www.livemint.com/news/india/india-to-tighten-regulations-on-online-gaming-to-combat-money-laundering-11685610847033.html [4] Source: https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/financial-services/india-mulls-tightening-regulations-on-online-gaming-to-combat-money-laundering/2539030/

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has proposed that online gaming companies, particularly those in the rapidly expanding Real Money Gaming (RMG) sector, be brought under the anti-money laundering (AML) and combating financing of terrorism (CFT) framework, aiming to address substantial money laundering risks within the gaming ecosystem.
These gaming platforms, if implemented, would be required to adhere to Know Your Customer (KYC) norms to verify the identities of their users, report suspicious transactions, and maintain records of financial transactions to enable tracking of potentially illicit funds, reflecting global standards already adopted in other financial sectors like virtual digital assets.
The Indian government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is examining the financial aspects of online gaming apps with a magnifying lens to combat the misuse of these platforms for illegal financial flows and terrorism.
The stricter KYC norms are being considered while setting up accounts on online gaming platforms to mitigate the risk of people falling for online scams, as the government's goal is not to muzzle the online gaming market but to make it safer and more lucrative.
The ongoing conversation in India also includes the 28% Goods and Services Tax (GST) charge that online gaming companies face, with the government believing that criminals and terrorists can misuse online gaming platforms and wanting them to be under a global ambit.
In the developing Indian gaming scene, people game from home and visit gaming parlors. A significant story unfolds in the poker world as Roy D'Silva, a published author and a prominent figure in the poker world, covers this beat in his career, looking to be at the forefront of this change.
If changes are implemented as proposed, they are expected to bring about a significant shift in the online gaming industry in India. An article about the matter was published on 2nd June, 2023.
The regulation would likely require gaming companies to comply with similar stringent AML/CFT requirements already applicable to other financial intermediaries, enhancing monitoring and risk profiling mechanisms to check money laundering and terror financing risks across industries, such as finance, technology, social media, entertainment, sports, sports-betting, weather, and weather-forecasting, among others.