The Indian gaming industry is one of the fastest growing sectors of the Indian media and entertainment sector. As per a Statista.com report published in July 2022, India’s online gaming industry crossed Rs.10,000 cr in the year 2021 and is expected to reach Rs.15,300 cr by 2024. The report adds that transaction-based games such as rummy and fantasy sports were the key contributors.
According to KPMG, online casual gaming contributed Rs.6,000 cr of the Rs.13,600 cr gaming industry in FY21.
While the online gaming industry is poised for explosive growth, the struggle around having a centralised regulatory body and framework is real. In a recent development, Tamil Nadu governor RN Ravi approved an ordinance to ban online gambling and regulate online gaming in the state. Following the approval, the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Gambling and Regulation of Online Games Ordinance, 2022 came into effect.
The prohibitions include online gambling, playing online games of chance like rummy and poker with money and other forms of stakes, and advertising in any media platform which directly and indirectly persuades a person to play.
In the past, multiple southern states including Kerala and Karnataka have also tried to ban online gaming. The efforts were later struck down by the respective High Courts. The rulings by the High Courts were challenged before the Supreme Court of India and are pending. Other states may take cue from Tamil Nadu’s ordinance on online gaming.
The ordinance which classifies rummy and poker as ‘Games of Chance’ has led to further discussion as the Madras High court has ruled that these are ‘Games of Skills’.
We asked the practitioners to weigh in.
According to Sanjeev Kotnala, Brand and Marketing Consultant, Intradia World, “Card games by nature have a high degree of probability – that is what we call chance – and it is where luck comes into play. In my books, clearly a game of chance – that is called GAMBLING when stakes are there. Yes, some skill is required when it is played face-to-face. However in the current online gaming it is a higher degree of gambling – more chance than skill.”
Ankur Singh, CEO and Founder, Witzeal Technologies has a different opinion. He says, “The skill-based online gaming industry in India is growing at par with the other segments of the media and entertainment industry such as music, film and television. One of the reasons is that the online skill-based gaming industry is being perceived as more than edutainment as the players get a platform to magnify their cognitive skills.”
He further added, “To talk about rummy and poker in particular, it should be noted that the apex courts across the nation have classified rummy as a game of skill despite there being some element of chance. In a game of rummy for example, as far as the distribution of cards is concerned, the skill used for remembering the cards, the sequence with which the cards are played, etc; are an important element and thus rummy was and still is upheld to be a game of skill. One can draw a similar reference for poker also where similar skills are required. Thus, in the larger context of the game, preponderantly these are games of skills.”
“Firstly, the online gaming industry as a whole is on a roll, and is a very significant commercial force in India. Secondly there have been numerous legal decisions in High Courts and even one in the Supreme Court pronouncing rummy as a game of skill and not a game of chance, so I will not proffer my personal judgement on the matter. Frankly the debate on whether it should be banned or not will be decided legally and as of now the dice seems to be loaded in favour of the gaming industry,” says Ramesh Narayan, ad veteran and Founder of Canco Advertising.
Is there a greater possibility of addiction in algorithm-driven games like online poker and rummy?
“Gaming like poker and rummy, like any other service, build their business to gain more players playing for longer periods with higher stakes, that is the only way for the house to make money. And house is after all all for making money. So people who have played machine games in casinos know there are traps in place to make you play longer, more often and with higher stakes. Bonus slips, initial hot streak, free liquor and many others. One can expect that the algorithm-based gaming follows the same by analysing your data about style and mode of playing – something that you have to provide willingly. Addiction is a natural outcome,” said Kotnala.
Arun B Nair, Consultant Psychiatrist based in Trivandrum, Kerala believes that these games have an element of addiction.
Nair explained, “Definitely these games have an element of addiction because they thrive on the principle of ‘near hit, near miss’ effect – that means the game is thrilling till the last moment. The person who loses the game also feels extremely confident that next time he can easily win the game. The person who wins also will be thrilled and excited by the dopamine surge caused by the game that they want to play again and again. Though there is an element of skill in these games, because of the addiction potential, people spend long hours especially during the night playing the game, depriving them of sleep and leading to health issues like concentration, memory etc.”
He added, “the basic neuro-biology of this addiction is, there is a neurotransmitter called dopamine in the brain which increases when they indulge in any of these activities. If the level of dopamine increases at a certain level, we get a sense of well-being which is sustained and comes down very slowly like when we are involved in activities like working out, hanging out with friends, or doing any creative activities. But, while playing these games there is a sudden hike in the level of dopamine which gives a very high sense of well-being, but it drops very fast as well. This leads to a feeling of deprivation, anxiety, sadness, and depression which makes them indulge in the game over and over again, to overcome these feelings. That’s how they get addicted to these games.”
Narayan believes that moderation needs to be exercised.
“Is smoking addictive? Is drinking liquor addictive? The manufacture of either of these items has not been banned. I have never understood why only their advertising is prohibited. The same argument would hold good for rummy, poker or online gaming,” he adds.
“As the online gaming industry matures, it is quite crucial to follow the ASCI code for responsible gaming in order to provide a safe and trustworthy environment to our users. So far as addiction is concerned, all the operators in the industry are required to follow the code. At our multi-gaming platform, Big Cash, we have a ‘Random Number Generator’ certificate that ensures zero loopholes in the algorithm, and therefore, we advise the players to play at trustworthy gaming platforms in order to minimise the negative outcomes,” added Singh.
