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Cybersecurity threats in online gaming: Learnings for India
This paper has been authored by Prateek Tripathi, ORF.
This brief examines the rapid growth of the global online gaming industry and the consequent increase in cyber threats. Issues such as microtransactions, money laundering, and predatory practices by developers can stymie the industry’s growth potential if not addressed. Many countries’ current gaming-focused regulatory frameworks do not cover these challenges and will need to be revised. India—a significant gaming market—must also consider making its online gaming policy more holistic by addressing the rampant cybersecurity threats.
From the emergence of the coin-operated arcade game Pong in 1972 to the release of Hogwarts Legacy, an action role-playing video game, in 2023, the gaming industry has come a long way. Although video games are often stereotyped as being isolating and promoting antisocial behaviour, the Covid-19 pandemic highlighted their ability to bring people together from different corners of the world. Indeed, the gaming market grew by 26% between 2019 and 2021 amid the pandemic. The industry's growth has also been driven by cloud and mobile platforms providing greater accessibility to video games, with players no longer needing expensive consoles and personal computers to access games. In 2022, mobile gaming accounted for nearly half of the industry’s total value. This has had an outsized influence in India, which recorded the largest number of mobile gamers worldwide in 2021-22 (about 507 million users), amid increasing smartphone penetration due to affordable devices and data plans.
The paper can be accessed by clicking here.
This paper has been authored by Prateek Tripathi, ORF.
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