New Delhi: skills or opportunities? This is a billion-dollar question that haunts the Indian online game industry, and even the Office of the Prime Minister (PMO) is believed to have stepped into this problem now.
When gaming grows with leaps and limits in India and attract private equity and other investments from all over the world, this problem is finally boiled into one simple question – is the game based on ‘skills’, or arranged by ‘opportunities’? If it’s the last, this is similar to gambling, which makes it illegal.
Also, how someone distinguishes between casual gaming (such as Ludo King, Candy Crush, Dota2) and real money gaming (such as Rummy, Poker, MPL, Dream11) based on online fantasy cards or sports.
Industrial players, analysts and experts told to say this debatable question keeps the balance of the industrial hang even when it grows at the break-neck speed – especially after locking that sees people who are seen as playing.
Concerns around gambling have seen gaming banned in countries such as Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, where it is seen based on ‘opportunities’.
The company accused “random definition and interpretation” often made in the absence of clear policies.
While being the subject of the country, there is no centralized law to make a clear difference.
Efforts to form a centralized regulatory regime have been debated by cross-ministers such as that and sports, and even Niti Aayog.
“A group of ministers, with ministers from various countries, has also been formed on this problem.
And now PMOs pay attention to this problem,” said a source.
Gaming players want doubts to sort “fair and square”, so that any ambiguity in the state is removed at all.
Although there has been a previous legal assessment – including the Supreme Court, which created differentiation between games and gambling in specific instances – the problem is still not resolved.
Importantly, Karnataka – Countries that accommodate Indian IT skills – will soon decide their views on this issue.
The Karnataka High Court has asked the government to come up with its interpretation.
The company still hopes that gaming will get some positive handling by the Government of Karnataka.
“When there is considerable ambiguity of regulations for the online gaming sector, if the Karnataka Government will introduce a progressive online skills game policy, it will be a big evidence of the concept for other states …
this will also reaffirm the Supreme Court’s jurisprudence to distinguish between the game Opportunity skills and games, “said Diner Vashisht, VP at Games24x7, said.