INDIAN GAMING
Gateway to Gaming TN Governor approves Online Gambling Bill
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The Governor of Tamil Nadu (TN) RN Ravi today approved the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Gambling and Regulation of Online Games Bill, 2022 to replace the ordinance and ban any kind of online gaming. According to media reports the bill has been
passed by the Governor and the law will come into force soon. Earlier in September, a draft to ban online
gaming for stakes was formed and approved by the TN cabinet and sent to the Governor which he approved on October 7 to put a halt on any kind of online gaming. A bill was subsequently formed by the TN Law
Minister S Regupathy called the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Gambling & Regulation of
Online Games Bill, 2022 and introduced in the legislative assembly on October 19 which was passed on the same day.
The move to ban all online gaming for stakes
originated as people, most prominently PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss, alleged that these kinds of games destroy families and have a bad impact on the youth. Games like online poker and rummy were included in the ban under the category of ‘game of chance’.
Many debates have taken place since then.
The E-Gaming Federation (EGF) was even set to challenge the ordinance as they believe poker and rummy are categorized under ‘game of skill’ by the Supreme Court and a ban on online gaming last year was struck down by the Madras High Court (HC) saying “blanket ban on gaming for stakes in skill games was in violation of Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution which allows people the right to practice any profession or to carry on any occupation, trade, or business.” The EGF, in their pursuit to take legal action
against the TN government, said that banning these online games would have a huge impact on the online gaming economy and it would be a direct violation of the orders of the Supreme Court.
Games24x7 establishes start-up fund in interactive entertainment space
Games24x7, one of the dominant leaders in online gaming, is establishing Games24x7 Ventures, a Rs 400 crore investment fund, to invest in early-stage start-ups in the interactive entertainment sector. Startups that can benefit from the company’s primary business areas will be the main focus of the fund. Rahul Tewari, the company’s chief
financial officer, told The Economic Times that the company would fund the new investment avenue from its own balance sheet. A unicorn, Games24x7 operates other platforms like Mycircle11 and Rummycircle and has raised $75 million early this year at a valuation of $2.5 billion. “This is a long-term commitment over the
next five years to partner with emerging companies and entrepreneurs and support them not only with capital but also bring in our operating expertise and a unique way of scaling up our operations in a very disciplined manner while maintaining unit economics, which we think is the mantra for investing in today’s times,” Tewari said. “There is going to be a lot of disruption
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learning about emerging technologies and products in the space. Diversification will not happen through this fund, that will happen through M&As,” Tewari added. Various government agencies have now
because of technologies such as 5G, where immersive entertainment is going to transform the experience of the customers. We think that because we understand the Indian consumer and have in-house technologies and products that the Indian consumer wants, we are very well positioned to hand-hold younger companies operationally. We have tremendous capability in marketing automation, data science, and also on the product development side,” he added. Games24x7 is trying to diversify its
business through mergers and acquisitions, in addition to investing in new technologies and products through its investment fund. “Diversification is happening—operational
diversification is underway on the platform, but this fund in itself will not deliver it because it is going to be a vehicle for making minority investments. We will benefit by getting access to new business models and
started talking about regulating the Indian online gaming industry. A report from KPMG shows that India had 43.3 crore online gamers in the financial year (FY) 2021, which is estimated to grow to 65.7 crore by FY25. In FY21, the online gaming market
generated revenues of Rs 13,600 crore, of which Rs 6,020 crore came from casual players. By FY25, this revenue is projected to reach Rs 29,000 crore, with Rs 16,900 crore coming from casual gamers. “We are hoping for more clarity but there
are a lot of progressive steps that the government is taking. There is a lot of noise but we are hoping that through deliberations with different arms of the government, we will be able to set in motion a regulatory regime that is eventually going to attract more investment and promote more entrepreneurship in the space,” Tewari concluded.
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