BENGALURU: The All India Gaming Federation (AIGF) welcomed the Karnataka High Court’s order quashing the ban on online gaming in the state. “As the apex industry body for online skill gaming, AIGF welcomes the High Court order.
Coming in succession of the positive judgments for online skill gaming by the Kerala and Madras High Courts in 2021, this is a step in the right direction to grow for the burgeoning gaming industry,” said AIGF
Chief Executive Officer Roland Landers.
“India is the fifth largest online gaming market globally and skill-based gaming, a sunrise sector, is giving birth to an increasing number of unicorns within the country, especially Karnataka,” he added. According to AIGF, the gaming sector has been a “strong financial contributor to the Indian economy even during an unprecedented period of slowdown and is expected to generate revenues in excess of $3 billion by 2025.”
Landers said that with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announcing an Animation, Visual Effect, Gaming and Comics (AVGC) task force, the gaming industry looks forward to generating employment, becoming a meaningful contributor. “AIGF and the skill games council of domain experts will be happy to assist various stakeholders in playing a consultative role in the formation of a regulatory framework for the industry,” he said.
Last October, the state government, by amending The Karnataka Police Act, 1963, had prohibited playing of games of skill, including online games, which involved risking money or otherwise. The petitioners, including AIGF, had claimed that games such as poker, chess, rummy, fantasy sports are all games of skill.
“The High Court order is yet another validation of what the online skill gaming industry has always maintained; that we are a legitimate business activity,” said Dinker Vashisht, vice-president, Corporate and Regulatory Affairs, Games24x7.