Video games will make you more gambling – Kommersant

“Kommersant” became aware of the details of the plans of the Unified Gambling Regulator (URAI) to control the video game market, which officials and market participants began discussing in December. First of all, the proposals concern control over financial flows. ERAI wants to oblige developers to connect to its information systems and transmit information about sales. We are even talking about ensuring that all consumer payments go through ERAI. Products will be pre-screened at the level of the register of video games approved for distribution. But specialized regulators and companies consider the ERAI ideas to be too harsh and are preparing an alternative regulatory concept.

“Kommersant” got acquainted with the document “Concept of legal regulation of the video game industry.” It, according to Kommersant’s sources in the market, was prepared by representatives of the ERAI and the executive committee of the Boxing Federation, headed by Umar Kremlev. The document was already considered at a meeting at the government coordination center on December 7 with the participation of the Ministry of Digital Development, Roskomnadzor and representatives of the gaming industry, Kommersant’s interlocutors say.

Initially, the idea to develop a new regulation for the games market was expressed by Umar Kremlev on October 19 at a meeting of the Council for the Development of Sports. Vladimir Putin supported the idea. The concept sets out principles based on “the interests of preserving and strengthening traditional Russian spiritual and moral values.” The authors propose to introduce legislative definitions of such concepts as a video game, a video game organizer, an operator of a site for selling video game objects, a participant in a video game, and also to define the Russian Federation as “the place of activity for organizing and conducting video games.”

A significant part of the ideas is devoted to control over financial flows. It is assumed that funds from the sale of video games will not be accepted by a trading platform, for example Steam or PlayStation Store, etc., but by a single center for recording the transfer of bets. From each transaction he will collect targeted royalties, which will then be used to support Russian game developers, and the rest will be sent to the owners of trading platforms. To control deductions, “video game entities” must join the ERAI information systems and transmit to them information about each purchase transaction. The authors want to ban the sale of games that bypass the system. To control the content of video games, a register of their sellers and the products themselves should be created.

The initiative related to the creation of registers of prohibited and permitted video games is not new: in January, the government apparatus proposed to the Prosecutor General’s Office and relevant regulators to consider the idea of ​​​​creating a “catalog of approved online games” (see “Kommersant” on January 27). Responsibility for testing games was planned to be assigned to the Competence Center for Import Substitution in the ICT Sphere (CCICT). Kommersant’s interlocutor, close to TsKIKT, said that “he is familiar with the initiative, but it has not received development.”

The concept is the second initiative of ERAI to control financial flows in the gaming and related industries. A month ago, ERAI and State Duma deputies discussed a bill suggesting that when holding e-sports tournaments using foreign video games, licensing fees for the use of content would be collected by a structure affiliated with ERAI, and part of the funds would be directed to support Russian game developers (see Kommersant on November 16 ).

The Ministry of Digital Development considers it premature to evaluate the document: “The concept is in many ways only the starting point in the work on developing regulation.” Roskomnadzor, Astrum, Lesta Games (publisher of the World of Tanks and World of Ships games) and VK declined to comment; representatives of the Ministry of Economy, ERAI and Mr. Kremlev did not respond to Kommersant.

A Kommersant source in one of the largest video game developers says that the concept “does not take into account many risks.” Thus, according to him, the new regulation will create barriers to entry into the Russian market for suppliers from friendly countries. “And simply no one will connect to an obscure system – it’s simply unsafe,” he believes.

Another Kommersant interlocutor familiar with the concept notes that it “causes concern not only among market participants, but also among government agencies.” According to him, the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Finance, Roskomnadzor and other regulators “are concerned that ERAI is trying to concentrate all powers in its hands, as well as conduct not only monitoring, but complete administration of financial flows.” An alternative, “softer and safer regulation” is now being discussed, says Kommersant’s interlocutor. The adoption of ERAI’s ideas, he is sure, will lead to users buying games through workarounds, the situation of Russian distributors and developers will worsen, and they will be forced to “migrate to other jurisdictions.”

Nikita Korolev