Pune: NS Karnataka The government’s decision to ban online gambling, which includes skill-based games, is a blow to the community of big professional players in the state and will damage its reputation as a startup hub. All India Gaming Federation (AIGF) has said.

AIGF CEO Roland Landers said that India is the fifth largest online gaming market globally, and skill-based gaming has given rise to a growing number of unicorns in the state.

“The move of the Karnataka government in introducing the Karnataka Police (Amendment) Compliance Act, 2021 is highly regressive in nature, and is a major blow to the state’s reputation of being a tech-hub and start-up capital,” he said. said.

Karnataka Assembly on Tuesday
an amendment passed by voice vote The Karnataka Police Act, 1963, which seeks to ban online games involving “games of chance”. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, speaking on the law, said the proposed law does not prohibit online games that strictly adhere to “games of skill” features.

“These players, who represent India in domestic and international level tournaments such as the 2018 Asian Games and the World Series of Poker, look to this globally accepted arena as a means of their livelihood, which has already been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. A serious impact has been witnessed due to the -19 pandemic,” said PK Mishra, president – players’ union at AIGF. “I really hope that the state is able to review this matter and observe a clear distinction between gambling and skill-based gaming.”

Mishra said there has been support for online skill-based gaming in the past. “Keeping in view the support for the online skill-based gaming sector in previous judgments by the Supreme Court, under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution and various judgments of the Karnataka High Court, the Karnataka Police (Amendment) The introduction of the Compliance Act, 2021 is a real blow to the large professional sportsperson community residing in the state.

AIGF said that skill based gaming cannot be compared with gambling and banning is not a solution. The sector needs the support of state governments to promote initiatives towards responsible gaming. Landers said the sector has been a strong financial contributor to the Indian economy and is expected to generate revenue of over $3 billion by 2025.

The main objective of AIGF is to ensure global best practices in the online skill gaming ecosystem through effective self-regulation for members and other stakeholders, including responsible gaming and player safety. Its members adhere to a self-regulating charter based on the principles of transparency, integrity and responsible gaming and aim to self-regulate all games of skill played online in pay-to-play formats.