‘There’s more stability now in India’s online gaming industry’ – Times of India
On September 22, the “Right To Excellence – Tech Summit 2023” was organised by The Times of India in New Delhi. The event was captivating as experts from different industries shared their perspectives on the revolutionary impact of technology. Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, delivered the keynote address. One of the sessions at the event was ‘GameTech: Future of Gaming Industry’. The session had two speakers — Paavan Nanda, the CEO and founder of Winzo Games, and Sumanta Dey, Senior Director of Public Policy at A23 Games. In the last few months, there has been a lot of furore over online gaming, especially around platforms that ‘allow’ betting and wagering. The government of India has new rules around online gaming and especially around betting. The rules were introduced earlier this year and it was a topic that garnered a lot of attention in the panel discussion. Nanda of Winzo games said that, “There’s enough clarity now and the rules will provide stability of regulation.” He also said that there is level playing field now for all kinds of games. The smartphone penetration across the country has given mobile gaming a huge boost, said Dey. He also said that it was the tier-II and tier-III cities which are driving growth in the mobile gaming industry. The smartphone penetration across the country has given mobile gaming a huge boost. This is because smartphones are now more affordable and accessible than ever before. In addition, the quality of mobile games has also improved significantly in recent years. As a result, mobile gaming is now a popular pastime for people of all ages, from children to adults. Dey also said that it was the tier-II and tier-III cities which are driving growth in the mobile gaming industry. This is because the people in these cities are increasingly using smartphones for entertainment and leisure activities. In addition, the cost of living in these cities is lower than in the tier-I cities, which makes it more affordable for people to spend money on mobile games. Overall, the growth of the mobile gaming industry in India is being driven by a number of factors, including the increasing affordability of smartphones, the improvement in the quality of mobile games, and the growing popularity of mobile gaming in tier-II and tier-III cities.