Burying the Trust Deficit in Gamer Profiles – An Opinion

With the introduction of the National Sports Repository System (NSRS), a digital management information system (MIS) that aims to provide a comprehensive digital solution for athletes, coaches, sports scientists, sports training centres, federations, and administrators, India has demonstrated great vision in boosting the nation's sports culture.

It is a sports eco-system open platform where athletes, coaches, and academies can register. After successfully registering, a unique number known as the Khelo India ID (KID) is generated, which is used to access the NSRS.

Khelo India: National Programme for Sports Development was launched in 2017-18 by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. Because Khelo India's ultimate goal is to showcase India as a global sports superpower, it should start by incorporating esports and fantasy sports into its scope.

The global recognition of esports and subsequent inclusion in the 2018 Asian Games favours the development of an inclusive sports ecosystem in the country in order to effectively demonstrate India's mettle across old and new sports categories. Many of Khelo India's 12 defined verticals, such as sports for women, sports for people with disabilities, and promotion of rural and indigenous/tribal games, align well with the online gaming/esports industry.

The sunrise industry has claimed priority on issues such as women's empowerment, inclusivity, and promoting game development that is culturally appropriate for India. As a result, a comprehensive approach to the Khelo India initiative can enrich the ecosystem with the massive gains that the online gaming industry has seen since the pandemic.

Online gaming industry is in the eye of the storm lately

The online gaming industry is currently in the crosshairs due to reports of fraudulent accounts lurking on their platforms, as well as allegations of money laundering and gambling. Game developers are in a difficult position because too many security measures will cause friction for their customers, forcing them to migrate to competing platforms.

On the other hand, if they lack adequate security, they will fall short of government regulations or become vulnerable to fraud. Incorporating protocols that do not impede the experience of players while meeting necessary requirements is a must.

Extending and strengthening the Khelo India ID (KID) to only allow nationally verified players through a single ID can help game operators build trust with regulatory authorities. It could aid in the detection of synthetic account creation and account takeover attempts by requiring players to provide institutionally validated identity attributes such as Aadhar. Returning users could benefit from optimised authentication via a single set of credentials, rather than separate credentials for each additional gaming service or platform, saving time.

Players who are active on multiple gaming platforms will also have a smooth onboarding experience because they will have gone through a one-time ID creation and verification process with the NSRS. Having an autonomous body, such as a Gaming Commission, involved with the NSRS on a national level will reduce the compliance burden on operators to 'over-ask' sensitive information from players while also lowering administrative costs and overhead.

Online gaming falls under the purview of state legislation

Because online gaming falls under the purview of state legislation (under 'betting and gambling' – Entry 34, List II, Seventh Schedule of the Constitution), one of the Gaming Commission's roles could be to ensure that states agree on the use of the KID for player verification and facilitate easy cross-check from the NSRS. The role of a Gaming Commission becomes critical in highlighting the unique and distinguishing player management issues that emerge from the online gaming landscape.

KID's USP would be to serve as a consistent checkpoint for players across gaming platforms and across the country, effectively addressing the trust deficit in the online gaming ecosystem. Following that, individual platforms can implement additional security measures and manage data from the player to maintain their competitive advantage. The Gaming Commission and NSRS can define the scope and framework within which gaming companies can collect data points in order to create an accurate player profile.

Regulations create issues with retaining player

Regulations such as China's state-run authentication system, which requires players to log in with their real names, make it difficult to maintain player anonymity in the game if the player desires it. Because the ID would only be used for onboarding onto the gaming platform, the player could choose any gaming username that would be linked to the KID at the backend, ensuring anonymity.

One disadvantage of KID may be that users who are not citizens of the country may be unable to play on popular gaming platforms.

Combining a national-level ID with NSRS for online gaming would be just the beginning of a discussion in regulatory and industry circles. There is still a long way to go in terms of capturing multiple layers to strengthen player protection, anonymity, data protection, and ensuring that firms can maintain their competitive advantage while adhering to a common step in their verification system.

However, KID could be an important signal that India should consider extending existing features and models to the growing industry rather than developing completely new systems from scratch.

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