Aditya ChaudhuriThe All India Gaming Federation (AIGF), the apex body for the online skill gaming industry in India, has on-boarded three principal members, namely: Myteam11, Head Digital and Glance Gaming.
With this development, the AIGF has successfully crossed 100+ members across all gaming formats, including esports, fantasy gaming, card games, casual gaming, e-games and virtual gaming.
Being the oldest, largest and most diverse industry association for online gaming, the AIGF collectively represents the majority of the skill gaming operators across all gaming formats, including a significant portion of the Indian online gaming MSME sector. The apex body also drives conversations that protects interests of its members by creating awareness among the relevant stakeholders about the socio-economic benefits of online skill gaming industry through representations, research reports, surveys, seminars and events.
The AIGF regulates all revenue formats of gaming: free-to-play, freemium, pay-to-play and play-to-earn, and its self-regulatory charter, which has robust standards for audit, certification and conduct for its members and user safety, is overseen by an independent Online Skill Gaming Council (SGC).
Roland Landers, CEO, All India Gaming Federation, commented:
“We are happy to have Myteam11, Head Digital and Glance Gaming on-board and happy to share a combined vision of fostering innovations, ensuring global best practices and unravel many more aspects of this sunrise sector. We at AIGF have been working for over seven years and have been successful in getting on-board 100 plus members across verticals of the online gaming industry to address imperative challenges and reach a common goal of regulating all gaming formats.
“The Indian online skill gaming industry has come a long way and is heavily buoyed by smartphone penetration, India’s massive youth population, growing internet penetration and the affordability of smartphones. The sector is expected to become bigger than the film industry of India. Online skill gaming will be a cornerstone of Digital India and contribute to the vision of a USD$1tn digital economy. As the government recognises this potential the Supreme Court of India and multiple High Courts have also unequivocally held that games of skill are legal, and even if played for stakes, are protected under the Constitution of India. AIGF reaffirms the government’s vision of establishing transparency, integrity, and responsible gaming across all facets of the sector.
“Indian online mobile gaming is a US$1.5bn sunrise sector with 38% CAGR and is set to reach US$5bn by 2025. It is evident from the past two decades that the Indian online gaming sector has grown in tandem with innovation in game design, gaming platforms and digital technologies. I believe that with the advent of Web3, there will be multiple use cases of gaming in metaverse, gamified education and skilling. Hence it is imperative to establish a regulatory framework that fosters and supports innovation. In alignment to this, we at AIGF have also instituted an Online Games of Skill Charter covering aspects relevant for a standardised approach to the industry and user protection.“
Since its inception in 2016, the AIGF has been at the forefront, working with relevant legislative, judiciary and executive to highlight the economic and social benefits that accrue from the online skill gaming industry. One of the most notable practices that the body follows is “Skill Games Charter”, released in 2018, which ensures player protection and responsible gaming practices, including guidelines for advertising. Through the adoption of principles and the disciplinary process, the AIGF demonstrates the importance of its self-regulation mechanism and seeks to build a self-regulatory community and facilitative ecosystem for the offer of online transactional games of skill in a transparent and fair manner, with due regard for consumer and stakeholder interests.
