All India Gaming Federation Adds New Three Experts Amidst Gaming Surge
The All India Gaming Federation (AIGF) has responded to recent reports from Morgan Stanley and Ernst & Young, which highlight the explosive growth of online gaming worldwide and in India, with the appointment of three new experts to its panel.
Justice Vikramajit Sen, Fatema Agarkar and Jhulan Goswami will add expertise to the Federation's Charter that commits to responsible gaming, player protection, better regulation, and best practices for all transaction-based skill gaming in India.
In a press release, AIGF pointed to claims from investment banking giant Morgan Stanley that gaming is now the biggest pastime globally. And a FICCI Frames 2020 report from Ernst & Young stated that the skill gaming industry alone in India grew 30% in 2019, and the average spends per user metric was up 41% in the same year.
This growth, combined with the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting lockdown, has fuelled another surge in online gaming. The AIGF argues that the "importance for self-regulation for this Industry cannot be emphasized enough".
Welcoming the new advisory board members, Mr Roland Landers, AIGF CEO, professes: "We are privileged to have strengthened our advisory panel at AIGF and are very honored to have eminent Justice Vikramajit Sen, a Former Judge of the Supreme Court and Ex-Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court, Ms. Fatema Agarkar, leading educationist and Founder of the Agarkar Centre of Excellence (ACE) combing sports and education, and Ms. Jhulan Goswami, Indian International Cricketer and the former captain of the Indian National women's cricket team join us and offer their expert guidance to us and the industry."
Justice Vikramajit Sen added: "As online transaction-based gaming has grown by 30% over last year, self-regulation for this ever-expanding industry is extremely important. To overcome the blurred lines, the AIGF Skill Games Charter provides the very foundation for responsible gaming, user integrity, player protection, and best practices for member operators to ensure ethical practices to safeguard the consumer interest.
"To further contribute to the process, I am excited to be on the advisory panel of the AIGF, which has vetted the charter and play a role in guiding the Industry body and its stakeholders forward as the sector grows."
Ms Fatema Agarkar, appointed for her expertise in e-sports and digital sports, said: "I am glad to be a part of AIGF's advisory panel and for me, the sheer potential that e-sports enjoys lies in its reach, bringing communities together, enabling an alternative to physical sports, working with key life skills such as decision making, critical thinking and logic not to mention attitudes of discipline, responsible digital citizenship!"
Ms Agarkar added: "There's cognitive development and participation avenues that open up given its tech base and therefore obvious reach beyond the four walls, and when structured with science and responsible protocols, the sheer scale of possibilities it opens up cannot be emphasized enough. With AIGF's well-structured Responsible Gaming Charter, we will put the right checks in place and treat it with the respect it deserves!"
Ms Jhulan Goswami commented: "It is heartening to see that millions of gamers are participating in online formats including cricket and that this ecosystem is growing rapidly. It is an honor to be on the board alongside such eminent people and makes me extremely happy to see the industry come together to adopt the guidelines of the AIGF charter to ensure best practices and player protection for the online Skill Gaming Industry."
The AIGF is a not-for-profit registered society, and the apex industry body for all transaction-based online skill gaming.
Since its inception in 2016, AIGF has been working with relevant legislative, judiciary and executive to demonstrate the importance of its self-regulation mechanisms, and highlight the economic and social benefits of this sector.
