New Delhi: Nazara Technologies, a diversified gaming and esports firm, has recently become a principal member of the All India Gaming Federation (AIGF), a significant industry body in the skill gaming sector. This move reflects Nazara Technologies’ growing ambitions in the thriving real-money gaming market. Nitish Mittersain, the founder of Nazara Technologies, will join the executive committee of AIGF. Additionally, the company will lead the All-India Game Developers’ Forum (AIGDF), a not-for-profit collective and the largest association of game developers in India.
The primary goal of the AIGF is to promote the generation of gaming intellectual properties (IPs) in India by leveraging progressive policies and regulatory frameworks for game development. AIGF CEO Roland Landers stated that Nazara Technologies’ extensive experience in game development, esports, and pay-to-play will undoubtedly strengthen the AIGF and its vision. Moreover, the AIGF will rely on Nazara’s expertise to reinforce the AIGDF.
Nazara Technologies has expressed its commitment to actively contribute to AIGF’s initiatives aimed at creating a conducive gaming ecosystem in India. Mittersain emphasized the company’s dedication to shaping policy frameworks, promoting responsible gaming, especially in the real-money gaming segment, and advocating for the needs of Indian game developers and the gaming community.
Recently, Mittersain disclosed that Nazara Technologies is actively pursuing a larger presence in the real-money gaming business, capitalizing on emerging regulatory clarity in the sector. The company intends to collaborate with local and international developers to publish new real-money games specifically tailored for Indian audiences. Furthermore, Nazara Technologies plans to explore potential acquisitions to drive consolidation within the sector.
In the financial year FY23, the real-money gaming vertical accounted for a modest 5 percent of Nazara Technologies’ overall revenues, totaling Rs 57 crore. Mittersain acknowledged this as an opportunity to invest in and grow the real-money gaming business to a more significant scale, considering that the real-money gaming segment constituted 77 percent of India’s gaming sector revenues in 2022, reaching Rs 13,500 crore, according to a recent FICCI-EY report. Currently, Nazara Technologies operates platforms such as Classic Rummy (online rummy) and Halaplay (online fantasy) within the real-money gaming space.
On the other hand, AIGF boasts over 150 members, including online gaming companies and game developers across various formats and genres. Prominent members of the organization include Mobile Premier League (MPL), Gameskraft, Head Digital Works (A23), and Zupee.
These recent developments occur in parallel with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) notifying new gaming-related amendments to the IT Act 2021 in April 2023. These amendments establish multiple self-regulatory organizations (SROs) responsible for determining the permissibility of real-money games involving the transfer of money in India.