Highlights
- Kartikeya Sharma urged comprehensive online gaming regulation in India.
- He called for ecosystem-wide oversight, including audits and streamlining regulation.
- Sharma also pushed for esports recognition in India, positioning competitive gaming as a structured career path.
Rajya Sabha MP Kartikeya Sharma pressed the Government of India to introduce comprehensive regulation of India’s online gaming ecosystem during Zero Hour in the House discussion on Feb 10, 2026. He urged lawmakers to address the promises and perils of India’s rapidly expanding gaming sector.
Sharma’s remarks underscored rising concerns about youth exposure to unregulated gaming, as well as the need to formally recognize esports with an official sport status. Speaking in the Rajya Sabha (RS), the independent MP emphasized that while electronic gaming has become a significant part of India’s digital economy, the expansion has outpaced the necessary legal and safety frameworks to govern it.
He requested that the Indian government regulate the “entire ecosystem, from game development to streaming, and mandate game audits,” to ensure a safer digital space. He further emphasized that India’s creative and digital sector is crucial for India’s $1 trillion USD digital economy goal. “We must recognize the Orange Economy,” stated Sharma.
The MP also emphasized India’s gaming market size. He pointed out that India currently has the largest number of amateur gamers in the world, with over 500M players, and that the industry is expected to grow significantly, with a current valuation of about $3.7B and a projected value of $10B by 2030.
Rajya Sabha MP Kartikeya Sharma’s Call for Regulation and Esports Recognition
Sharma didn’t limit his arguments only to the economic viability of the gaming and esports industries. Sharma also highlighted what he called a “crisis of unregulated amateur gaming,” and linked unregulated gaming exposure to rising health issues among children and youth.
He cited clinical studies showing associations between intense gaming and conditions such as gaming addiction, ADHD, anxiety, and depression, as well as reports of death connected to compulsive gameplay.
Sharma also underscored the untapped potential of professional esports. Granting official sports status to esports could help the “millions of serious, highly skilled electronic gamers” who are passionate about esports. Sharma’s push for esports recognition also aligns with trends across Southeast Asia, where competitive gaming has gained legitimacy in countries like Singapore and South Korea.
He emphasized that to unfold the full value of game development, Indian esports needs official recognition. Doing so “will provide our youth with a structured legitimate career path while positioning Bharat (India) as a global leader in the digital economy,” he stated. He also cited the growth of the Indian AVGC sector, which will require 2M professionals by 2030, and offers an employment opportunity for youth.
Sharma’s comments reflect how the Indian gaming sector needs to balance digital economic growth with safety for young people, as the country moves towards the goal of Viksit Bharat 2047: Vision for a Developed Nation.
Sharma’s appeal aligns with India’s existing policy work on online gaming regulation, the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 (PROGA 2025). PROGA established a framework for classification and consumer protection in online gaming, including rules for esports and bans on online real money games.
