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CEO – The All-India Gaming Federation
The online gaming industry has witnessed a whirlwind rise in recent years powered by a youthful and tech-savvy populace, affordable accessibility of smartphones, better internet availability, and overall technological evolution.
Poised to further add to the swelling numbers, online gamers are expected to grow to 510 million by 2025 and the industry will be worth $ 3 billion in the same time period.
This phenomenal growth has been driven by the collective efforts of the entire gaming industry’s ecosystem consisting of gamers of all ages, game developers, investors and marketers all working together to come up with the latest cutting edge games, concepts and offers for players. Huge target audience, more players and potential customers and the ongoing market expansion has unparalleled implications for many businesses operating within the gaming ecosystem.
Gaming platforms are now evolving into digital social platforms where players can meet, communicate, watch live-streamed events, listen to music, and make purchases as it intersects with different industries therefore catering to a wider audience and different player needs and spreading its reach. In addition, the impact of online gaming is not just limited to gamers anymore. Today, it spans across successful movie franchises, arena-based tournaments, toys and more.
Seeing the tremendous growth, investors are very bullish on indigenous online gaming companies propelling the online gaming industry to continue on its unbeaten run to record a winning score.
Investment in India’s gaming sector saw a whopping flow of 1.7 billion USD in the last 17 months With over 400 online gaming startups in India, the country is experiencing a rise of employment opportunities within the job market, as it has become a popular backend development center for gaming companies creating more opportunities in tech oriented careers within IT and game development.
Amidst this, the gaming industry continues to reiterates the need for central guidelines for online gaming and a central body to govern this space.
For industry stakeholders, these figures are more than numbers, they show why it’s important for the government to support India’s gaming industry which has the potential to help them take control of the revenues and boost the country’s economy.
In spite of the online gaming industry witnessing robust growth for businesses and in terms of player adoption, there’s still a lack of understanding and awareness in the country. Online skill gaming cannot be equated with gambling for being subscription-led or involving an entry fee.
The apex court and multiple high courts have reiterated several times that online games of skill are not gambling, but in fact, protected under Article 19(1)(g) of the constitution as the success depends principally upon the superior knowledge, training, attention, experience and adroitness of the player.
But gaming is a state subject under the constitution and is dictated differently by each state. While online skill-based games are permitted in most states, the absence of comprehensive regulations in this sector makes the subject complex.
It is long established that online gaming has gained a strong foothold within the Indian entertainment industry. In view of these trends, the importance for self-regulation by the AIGF within this industry cannot be emphasized enough especially when it comes to responsible gaming which is still a new concept in India.
As the industry has grown phenomenally so far, the next level of growth is highly dependent on a well-defined regulatory framework.
To ensure and that the Indian startups stay within India and not flock to countries like United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, the United Arab Emirates, and Singapore which offer favourable policies and ecosystem that promote investments, the government must take a progressive step towards effectively regulating this sector currently governed by old-fashioned views and laws.
New regulations would help push gaming platforms to consider educating players about gaming responsibly, implementing self-checks and self exclusion etc.
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Views expressed above are the author's own.
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