India wants to regulate online games. Should we regulate ourselves too?
India’s new online gaming law reveals the hidden cost of regulation, including the rules we impose on ourselves.
Starting October 1, 2025, India plans to implement the Promotion and Regulation of Online Games Act. The bill covers everything from content and advertising to addiction, user data, and consumer protection. For a country with one of the fastest-growing digital audiences in the world, this goes beyond paperwork and represents an attempt to balance booming innovation with public responsibility.
On one hand, regulation promises safeguards against predatory monetization and unchecked data collection. On the other, it raises an age-old debate: when does protecting the public cross the line into overreach and stifling creativity?
As someone writing from Brazil, this news caught my attention immediately. We’ve seen similar debates here not only in the videogame industry, but also around fintechs, ride-sharing apps, streaming platforms, and, the most dangerous of it all, betting apps. We had issues with apps that have made life miserable for a large part of the Brazilian population and our government’s actions to prevent family debts or providing good work conditions vary (usually for the worse), so what our BRICS colleagues are attempting feels admirable, especially given the scale of the challenge.
However, as it happens every time the government tries to decide upon the lives of common citizens, the same question emerged: who gets to decide what counts as fair play?
The Upsides and Risks of Regulation (and What They Teach Us)
Let’s face it: when government interference is done wrong, it goes sour pretty quickly and pretty badly. I know it for a fact living in Brazil. In fact, that’s one of the reasons why gaming here is so expensive (and to make it even worse, we accept this as natural). I talked about that in length before:
So after everything I wrote before, this will sound extremely strange, but I really believe that there’s value in regulation. If done right, it can set the stage for sustainable growth in the long run.
Here are a few positives that apply to industries and, as usual here in this space, how this translate to our careers so you can see the benefits of it in your own life:
Protection and clarity. Laws help prevent abuse and define the rules of the game. Think of it like you defining your own “rules” like boundaries on working hours or contract terms to protect you from burnout or unfair deals.
Consumer trust. Just as clear laws give players confidence that games won’t exploit them, personal guardrails (like transparent pricing or a defined scope of work) build trust with clients and employers.
Sustainability. Boundaries prevent short-term exploitation from collapsing the whole ecosystem. For individuals, rules help sustain long careers instead of short bursts of productivity that lead to exhaustion. This is crucial to prevent burnout and career dead ends in the long run.
But of course, every system of rules comes with risks, especially when creative industries are involved. For industries, it can mean stalled innovation. For individuals, it can mean getting stuck in rigid patterns.
Here’s the downside:
Creativity freeze. Too many restrictions discourage experimentation. Companies can get stuck in a loop, afraid of stepping outside the lines. Personally, that can look like never taking risks because you fear stepping outside the “rules.”
Invisible costs. Compliance eats resources. There will be times that a company will need entire departments to know if you are playing by the rules, and that’s not cheap. In an individual level, this mirrors spending more time on process than on progress (something that I also already talked about in another post).
Dependency. If you only ever follow rules written by others (bosses, markets, or social norms) you lose your own critical sense of direction. That’s when you end up living by someone else’s playbook.
Building Your Own Guardrails
The lesson here isn’t that regulation is good or bad. It’s that rules shape behavior, and if you don’t set some for yourself, someone else will. Last week, during my analysis of Nintendo’s pricing policies, I talked about the importance of building guardrails during personal analysis, which can summarize in the following:
360° feedback: done right, it exposes blind spots and keeps your self-assessment honest.
Specific self-checks: replace fuzzy questions (“Am I strategic?”) with measurable ones (“How often did I document risks and options this quarter?”).
Reflective journaling: writing clarifies whether you’re living by your own principles and helps keep your emotions in check.
By doing this, you’re using limitations to build a healthy base to grow as a person. I’m being very succinct here, but you can check the post below if you want to learn more about it, plus the importance of “respecting your own value”:
From Governments to Ourselves
India’s new law may reshape its online gaming market in ways that ripple far beyond its borders. It’s an experiment in balancing protection with freedom, clarity with flexibility.
The same balance applies to us. Self-regulation is harder than government regulation because there’s no parliament to hold you accountable, just your own discipline and honesty. But the reward is autonomy: the ability to thrive without waiting for someone else’s rule book.
However, the major risk in both cases is the heavy hand of authority dictating what’s right and wrong, which often makes creativity scarce and undermines the very purpose of regulation. In India’s case, it can be the heavy hand of state. In a personal level, our own fear of judgment.
But I want hear your opinion on the matter. Do regulations help innovation or hold it back? And in your career, have you ever set personal rules that made all the difference? Please, leave a comment below, I’d love to hear your perspective.
In the meantime, let’s keep leveling up, one boss level at a time.
From the Substack Community
The perspective of discovering games with our children is vibrant on Substack, and even though I’m not a father yet, this is among my top picks. ROP delves into games from his collection with his son, and it’s always a joy to see their thoughts on them. Additionally, hats off for being one of the rare creators who take the time to narrate their writings, allowing busy readers to listen to his posts with his own voice.
Interesting article! I see the value of regulations, as they can shape creations better... like giving rail tracks to an engineer and thus he invents a train.
But government must walk a fine, clear and transparent line, because corruptions is abundant in high places, and when it comes to regulations... governments tend to... well... give them an inch, and they'll take a mile. Right?
Your take on personal rails is awesome. Harder on us, and we become responsible. But that is a good thing, builds character! :)
Also, Thank you so much for the amazing shoutout—I really appreciate it!
Sharing gaming stories, especially those with Junior, is a joy, and I hope they inspire parents to explore games’ impact on kids, to help curate their collections, and even encourage them to play together.
Also, I’m thrilled you noticed my narrations too—adding that personal, real layer through audio is important to me, along giving readers the option to listen brings my stories to life in a whole new way—this is why I involve Junior here and even add a few audio only surprises. ;)