Is the game over for the growing online gaming industry in India? | Internet News

Nikita Luther is the best poker player in India, the first woman in the World Series of Poker, the first woman and the second player in the country to win a bracelet. However, at the age of 30, his career is at a crossroads. Luther’s skills are unquestionable, but so is the future of Indian poker.

A wave of laws and regulations recently introduced by several states across the country threatens to kill large parts of a fast-growing online gaming industry, including popular card games like poker and rummy. The argument of every state government is essentially the same: the laws passed by Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh and a regulation introduced by Kerala are aimed at eliminating gambling.

But experts warn that gambling is driven by talent that has been cultivated over the years, and that the outcome is largely different from what is determined by luck. This distinction is crucial – although betting on “random games” is illegal nationwide, national high courts have previously allowed “games of skill”.

Now the courts have called for re-intervention. The All India Gaming Federation (AIGF), the industry’s leading industry organization, and some of the country’s leading gaming platforms have challenged laws passed by Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The Supreme Court of Madras, the Supreme Court of Tamil Nadu, overturned the law, while the Supreme Court of Karnataka has yet to rule. But Tamil Nadu has appealed to the Indian Supreme Court to ratify its law.

“If these laws are passed, it could disrupt the gaming industry in India,” lawyer and gaming industry analyst Jay Sayta told Al Jazeera.

According to AIGF, the future of an industry that will employ 40,000 people in India by 2023 is at stake if it is allowed to grow.

The pandemic, unexpectedly, has exacerbated the expansion of the sector as India’s online skills-based gaming revenue is expected to double to $ 3 billion by 2023. Last June, the consulting firm KPMG described India as one of the fastest growing gaming markets in the world. it points to the country’s 420 million regular-line players – second only to China – as evidence of the possibility of further expansion.

At a time when Beijing is shrinking the gaming industry, a success in India could also have serious consequences for the sector worldwide. International platforms like PokerStars have invested in attracting a wide Indian audience, with Mahendra Singh Dhoni signing as an ambassador for famous brands like former Indian cricket captain India. And the country is creating champions like Luther.

More than a “random game.”

A math nerd, Luther prepares in detail for each tournament: watching hours training videos, drawing new strategies, and exploring the game. Then there is the physical side of poker.

“People don’t realize it, but playing in a poker tournament requires a lot of strength,” he told Al Jazeera. “You’ve been playing for 16 hours straight, with five-minute breaks.”

Luther relies on yoga, meditation, a little cardio, and a carefully controlled diet to be fit and ready for games.

If his routine is strict, that would be except for easy poker at the highest levels, where he gathers advanced game theory and statistics. It is offered as a poker theory course at the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. At the Indian Institute of Management in Kozhikode, one of the leading B-schools in the country, poker is used to teach a competitive strategy.

“Do you think these high schools would teach poker if it were a random game about gambling?” Luther asked.

Of course, governments have reason to worry about gambling, even though most cases are about rummy, not poker. In September, Andhra Pradesh police arrested a man who stole more than $ 300,000 worth of gold from a bank to finance his online rummy addiction. Tamil Nadu has witnessed a series of suicides of people who have lost thousands of dollars in online rummy.

But the solution is not a general ban on gambling, said Roland Landers, CEO of AIGF.

“We believe that regulation or self-regulation is effective, not a ban,” Al Jazeera said.

India’s online gaming industry will be worth $ 3 billion by 2023. [Courtesy of Charu Sudan Kasturi]

At the moment, state laws blur the boundaries between skill and gambling, as well as between different types of financial incentives, Sayta said. In fact, all the financial games – those aimed at rewarding the winner of a game, or the betting unions – are treated equally in these laws. “If the two people who are playing any game are betting on who will win between them, that too could be considered a crime,” Sayta said. “And that’s absurd. The state has no business in interfering in the private affairs of the people. “

The Madrid High Court ruled that Tamil Nadu law also banned prizes in sports championships and ruled that it was unconstitutional. But how the Supreme Court sees the state government can appeal the Supreme Court ruling across the country. If the Supreme Court decides the law is right, it could pave the way for other states to introduce similar legislation, Sayta said. “That would be the end of the Indian Games,” he said.

But conversely, if the Supreme Court upholds the ruling of the Madrid High Court, that could clear the air for the future of Indian gaming, Landers said.

What India needs, Sayta said, are strictly defined rules for the sector: the limit a person can spend on a game at a time, for example. “Concerns about the game are legitimate,” he said. “But a tough answer is not the answer.”

Luther is convinced that the laws targeted by the game reflect “resistance to change” among policymakers. Poker is not played in dark, dirty and questionable clubs. In contrast, India’s biggest poker name has been attended by hedge fund managers, creators and entrepreneurs asking for advice on how to play and improve their game.

“They have weekend games in corporate bonding sessions,” Luther said. “Poker has really taken off, and I’d like to believe it’s not going anywhere.”