Regulation ‘natural course of evolution’ for real money gaming: Games24x7 CEO

NEW DELHI — India’s largely mobile-first market is seeing an explosive growth over the past year, resulting in the availability of a variety of games that entail not just a skillset, but also the element of chance.

This has led to a government scrutiny, although the sector operates in still largely a grey area.

Online real money gaming status still under the radar

Bhavin Pandya, co-founder and CEO of Games24x7, is confident that the growing acceptance of skill-based gaming in the Indian market will ultimately lead to better regulation for the industry.

Games24x7 is a multi-game platform that operates games including RummyCircle and fantasy sports platform, My11Circle.

“India has rich jurisprudence and the legality of online skill games for money was never an issue. The Supreme Court has consistently held that skill games are legitimate and constitutionally protected commercial activities that can be played or organized for gain and profit,” Pandya said, in an interview with BW Businessworld.

“We believe that the recent ban on online gaming is unconstitutional and we have already challenged the same in court. We also believe that it is a natural course of evolution for online real money games we have seen in other countries that eventually decided to regulate, not prohibit such games in the best interest of the government and civic society,” Bhavin said.

Casual gaming with real money gaming component is considered to be one of the fastest growing segments in India. For instance, fantasy gaming has an estimated user base of 100 million, and is expected to reach 150 million in a couple of years, according to All India Gaming Federation (AIGF) CEO, Roland Landers.

Another segment that enjoys popularity in the country are online roulette games, one of the “familiar card games” that the Indian market has a strong preference for.

Skill gaming to lead India’s gaming industry

A game that is determined entirely by luck, which means its result is wholly uncertain, is considered a game of chance, according to judicial precedents. These apply to games like dice, spinning tops, playing cards, and roulette. For games of skill, the player must have a degree of mental and physical expertise, according to Indian laws.

However, courts in India have already recognized that no game is purely “skill” alone, noting that almost all games involve an element, however small, of chance.

What does this mean for the nascent skill-based gaming sector? Plenty, according to Pandya, especially for India’s large and rapidly growing casual gaming market that is looking to make its way mainstream.

Pandya said, “…the appetite among Indians to match their wits against others is strong and the cash element in gaming as rewards adds the necessary spice. We believe, unlike the Western countries, in India, this element of consumer behaviour has led to the exponential rise of skill games like chess, bridge, and rummy. It is skill gaming that will lead India’s gaming industry.”

This is also why it’s important for the industry to regulate now, as a report by SevenJackpots points out. “Transparent regulation will help the best gambling platforms like PureWin.Com prove their integrity to the public eye. Formal guidelines on online gambling will improve the business climate and bring benefits to State coffers,” SevenJackpots’ research analysts said.

They added, “A regulated market is better than an illegally-functioning one. Examples of effective gambling regulation are found easily: licensing, taxation, and monitoring come first. Corruption and lobbying need to be rooted out with precise legal definitions, altogether raising consumer protection standards.”