The online skill gaming body AIGF has recommended the Rajasthan government to extend the scope of its draft law for virtual sports to bring various formats of online skill-based games like rummy and poker under the regulation.

The All India Gaming Federation (AIGF), in response to the Rajasthan Virtual Online Sports (Regulation) Bill 2022, has said that the scope of the bill should be extended beyond fantasy sports and esports.

The body has proposed that any government acknowledgment or exception considered should be granted uniformly to all games of skill and not exclusively to fantasy sports and esports.

“We submit that all online games of skill, including poker, rummy, and casual games, should be considered for any such regulation. We submit that such a step will be incomplete if only esports and fantasy sports operators are considered,” AIGF stated in its submission to the state government.

The Rajasthan government issued the draft bill this month wherein it proposes to regulate esports platforms and bar them from conducting stimulated sports that are not recognized by any sporting federation.

The draft likewise proposes to regulate fantasy sports where the winning result depends on the performance of any real-world team or a player.

Gaming industry sources said that skill-based games should not be compared with fantasy sports.

“Games of skill like rummy, poker, and others have been played all over the country with judicial recognition for a much longer time, and any consideration for ‘safe-harbor’ cannot exclude these verticals of the skill-gaming industry.”

“Therefore, we submit that any government recognition or exemption contemplated should be granted uniformly to all games of skill and not only to fantasy sports and esports,” AIGF said.

The industry body has characterized online skill games as any format or game, played over the internet, including through a website or a mobile application, that has a greater part of skill and is one in which success relies primarily on the relevant information, training, coordination, consideration, experience, and ability of the player.

The online skill gaming body has requested the state government to change the name of the bill to regulate the whole online skill gaming sector and replace “virtual online sports” in some parts of the draft bill with “online skill game”.

Credit: The Print