New Meta rules: No pitfalls for Indian gaming

The whole point of games, and winning at them, is that you have to play by the rules. But whose rules they have to play by is what left the gaming industry, advertising stakeholders, and media outlets running around in circles last week, after Meta announced changes in its ad policies for several markets, apparently including India. And nobody was the winner here, or even getting any points.

The new Meta policy allows alcohol and gambling advertising and promotional messaging to adult users of its platforms, including WhatsApp and Instagram. This was followed by Meta clarifying its stance and saying local laws would always be respected. While alcohol was never really in play (pun intended), given India’s somewhat convoluted rules around Real Money Gaming and its promotion, there were plenty of rumours of change and new allowances. 

For instance, All India Gaming Federation said in a statement, “AIGF welcomes Meta's decision to allow real money skill gaming businesses to utilize the WhatsApp Business platform for promotional messaging. This move marks a significant step forward for the online gaming industry, particularly for MSMEs, who will benefit immensely from the enhanced reach and engagement this platform provides.”

However, while casual and skill-based gaming are all kosher under advertising regulations, chance-based gaming and gambling are definite no-nos. The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, differentiates between ‘online game’ and ‘online real money game’ and regulates them differently.

Yash Kumar, Managing Counsel, Spark Legal, says, “The Rules authorise an intermediary (in this case, WhatsApp) to display advertisement of 'permissible online game' as well as 'permissible online real money game' that have been verified by an online gaming self-regulatory body (SRB) under the Rules. However, given that SRBs have been notified till date, no ‘online real money games’ fall under the ambit of 'permissible online real money game', and hence be allowed to advertise.”

Online game refers to a game offered on the internet and is accessible to a user whereas online real money game is a type of online game where a user deposits cash or kind with the expectation of earning some winnings based on that deposit.

As one may well imagine, a lot of this can get lost in translation, or at least, be seen as open to interpretation. It is for this reason that most gaming companies declined to be a part of this article, with one digital marketing expert, specialising in gaming, sharing with e4m on conditions of anonymity, “No one wants to be tarred with the same brush as Real Money Gaming, even though some segments are completely allowed, because the public perception is that it’s no different from gambling.”

All of this is pertinent to advertising and marketing companies, given India’s prominence in the global gaming industry, in terms of sheer user base, if not (yet) revenues and ad spends. A report by Lumikai, in association with Google, stated that “The Indian gaming market, valued at $3.1 billion in FY23, is on a trajectory of robust growth, projected to reach $7.5 billion by FY28. User engagement is also on the rise, with a 12% year-over-year growth in the number of gamers in FY23, totaling 568 million. The average time spent gaming has also increased by 20%, with gamers dedicating 10-12 hours per week to their hobby.”

However, after all the furore of last week, legal and other experts have since said that this was more an affirmation of existing laws than any change in government policy or permissions, with minimal on-ground changes expected.

Pointing out that while Meta’s policies may have changed, Indian laws (and strictures on certain types of advertising) remain the same, Manisha Kapoor, CEO and Secretary General, ASCI, says, “All platforms have to adhere to national and state laws. Internal platform policies may provide further restrictions but cannot publish or print what is not permitted by law.”

Jay Sayta, gaming lawyer and advisor, agrees, saying that there are certain ASCI guidelines for real money games which have to be followed and will have to continue to be followed. “So in effect, nothing has changed, except that going forward, WhatsApp will probably be more liberal in allowing various categories of skill games to be advertised.”

“To conclude, only online games, which are not real money games, will see benefits of the changes introduced by Meta in the short term, and whenever they have been verified by SRBs (upon their notification), online real money games will also benefit from the move,” opined Kumar.

Subhash Bhutoria, Founder and Principal, Law SB, says that in India, while there is no specific law which regulates gaming related advertisement, general principals which protects consumer interest and are included in various consumer and advertising related laws and codes, are required to be followed. "As a pre-requisite, WhatsApp requires the advertiser to fill an application form and furnish supporting document such as a legal opinion on legality of the gaming activity. However, neither this application form nor the policy in general, requires the advertiser to warrant that the advertisement is in accordance with the Indian laws."