E-Sport Industry In India Waiting To Take Off: Gaming Platforms Call For Clarity In Govt Regulations

The E-Sport industry in India is waiting to take off big time and is capable of attracting both domestic and international demand, but needs clarity in government regulations.

E-Sports is a form of multiplayer sports competition where players from around the world compete in simulation games in genres like racing, football and first-person shooting.

As per Mobile Premier League (MPL) co-founder Sai Srinivas, thanks to affordable data services India can corner 30-35 per cent of global e-sport market.

"I believe that India is at a point where the future of gaming and e-sports in the next five years will be significantly driven by this market. It is India's chance to actually build its own digital infrastructure and build really scalable platforms and not only serve India, but also export a lot of these platforms to other countries like the US", Srinivas has been quoted as saying.

He though has called for a greater clarity in government regulations over definitions of skill based and chance based games. This he says will help Indian companies build large gaming enterprises and also become technology exporters.

"We need to have clarity in terms of regulations, in terms of defining what e-sports is, defining what competitive skill gaming is, and very clearly drawing a line between that and other games that might be games of chance, casino-led games", Srinivas said.

In December Niti Aayog had released draft guidelines on uniform national level regulations of online fantasy sports platforms.

Niti Aayog has assured that it help implement a single national policy on fantasy sports to bring clarity for operators, consumers and even regulators.

The guidelines propose a single self-regulatory organization for the fantasy sports industry which will be governed by an independent oversight board.