India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology amended the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 through G.S.R. 794(E), dated 28 October 2022, substituting clauses (a) and (b) of rule 3 with effect from the same date1. The same instrument inserted the definition of a Grievance Appellate Committee, described as a committee constituted under rule 3A1.
The rules were originally made under section 87 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 and came into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette, under G.S.R. 139(E)1. The 28 October 2022 change is recorded in the consolidated text as "Subs. by G.S.R. 794(E), dated 28.10.2022 (w.e.f. 28.10.2022)"1.
Under the rules, a user who is not satisfied with a Grievance Officer's decision "may prefer an appeal to the Grievance Appellate Committee within a period of thirty days from the date of receipt of communication from the Grievance Officer"1. The committee "shall make an endeavor to resolve the appeal finally within thirty calendar days from the date of receipt of the appeal"1.
The rules also set complaint timelines for intermediaries. A complaint must be acknowledged within twenty-four hours and resolved within fifteen days of receipt1. Where a complaint concerns content that is "relating or encouraging money laundering or gambling, or an online game that causes user harm," it "shall be acted upon as expeditiously as possible and shall be resolved within seventy-two hours of such reporting"1.
The consolidated text also carries definitions added later, in G.S.R. 275(E) dated 6 April 2023, covering online games. An "online real money game" is "an online game where a user makes a deposit in cash or kind with the expectation of earning winnings on that deposit," and a "permissible online real money game" is one "verified by an online gaming self-regulatory body under rule 4A"1. An "online gaming intermediary" is "any intermediary that enables the users of its computer resource to access one or more online games"1. A "child" is "any person below the age of eighteen years"1.
The rules list content that users must be told not to host or share, including material "relating or encouraging money laundering or gambling"1. They also bar content that "is in the nature of an online game that is not verified as a permissible online game," and any "advertisement or surrogate advertisement or promotion of an online game that is not a permissible online game, or of any online gaming intermediary offering such an online game"1.
What it means for players
For people in India who use online platforms, including gambling-related sites and apps, the 28 October 2022 change created a second-tier appeal route: a complaint that a platform's Grievance Officer does not resolve can go to the Grievance Appellate Committee within thirty days of the officer's reply, with the committee aiming to decide within thirty calendar days1. The rules do not say what remedies the committee can order, and that has not been reported in the text reviewed.
The rules require intermediaries to act on complaints about gambling-related content within seventy-two hours, faster than the fifteen-day standard for other complaints1. The later 2023 definitions mean that real money online games must be verified by a self-regulatory body to be treated as permissible, and unverified games and their advertisements are listed as prohibited content1. The rules do not state which games qualify, and no self-regulatory body is named in the text reviewed.
What happens next
The consolidated rules were updated as on 6 April 2023, when G.S.R. 275(E) substituted further provisions, including the online gaming definitions and the extension of due diligence duties to online gaming intermediaries1. No further dated steps are set out in the text reviewed. For the wider regional picture, see Gambling Laws in Asia: What Is Legal in 12 Jurisdictions.
