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Online Gaming in India Boosting the Economy

Online Gaming in India
India is a country in Southeast Asia that has a population of more than 1.2 billion people. It is the second most populated country in the world after China. India’s land consists of only 2.4% of the world’s landmass. However, the nation also supports 14% of the world’s population. As a result of overpopulation, India experiences large food shortages. Thus, 194.4 million people are malnourished and live on only $2 per day. Fortunately, India’s large population has increased online game development. Online gaming in India could be worth $1.1 billion by 2021. Furthermore, the online gaming market has created more job opportunities and gives impoverished people an avenue to connect with the world.

Online Gaming in India Attracts Investors

More than 75% of India’s population is under 45 years of age. Additionally, about 60% of India’s online gamers are aged 18 to 24. Thus, India has the second-largest online gaming market in the world and the country has 560 million game users. As the accessibility of mobile phones improves, the game user base increases as well. Also, cell phones are affordable and developing more revenue than gaming consoles. Therefore, developers are increasing their focus on the mobile gaming industry.

Only 25 gaming developers were working in India in 2010. However, this number increased to 275 gaming developers by 2019. Additionally, foreign and domestic gaming businesses continue to invest in India’s gaming market. As a result, more job opportunities come out of this industry. Rockstar Games is an American company that bought Dhruva Interactive, an Indian gaming development company. This created about 500 jobs for people in India. In addition, Youzu Interactive is a Chinese gaming company that invests $10 million to aid in developing local games. Baazi Games is a domestic gaming company that has invested $5 million to help gaming start-ups develop more mobile games. Moreover, two e-commerce firms, PayTM and AGTech Holdings launched a sports gaming platform called Gamepind. Together the companies invested more than $16 million.

Mobile Gaming Connects People

As online gaming in India has increased in popularity, the price of mobile phones has decreased. In fact, about 1 GB of data costed an average of $0.26 in 2019 whereas, the global average is $8.53. This has greatly increased the accessibility of cell phones and the gaming market in India. Jio is an Indian phone company that contributes to cell phone affordability. The company encourages other companies to lower prices by offering free calls and more affordable data plans.

About 48% of online gamers in India start playing to interact with friends. Additionally, more than 75% of online gamers stated they continued to play online games to relieve stress and continue social interaction. For many people, online gaming is an opportunity to engage in new virtual opportunities. There were more than 2.4 billion global mobile gamers in 2020. This newly emerging field offers endless possibilities. Virtual opportunities will continue to improve India’s economy in the future.

– Rae Brozovich
Photo: Flickr

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Online Gaming in the Caribbean

Online Gaming in the Caribbean

After receiving sovereign status from the U.S., several American Indian nations took advantage of the gaming industry as a means of increasing revenue. Similarly, many developing countries, those in the Caribbean in particular, have capitalized on technological advances to boost their economies via online gaming. Online gaming in the Caribbean has blossomed in recent years and may act as a promising source of employment.

Internet access is an incredible technological benefit to developing nations. Not only does the internet allow inhabitants of developing nations to engage with the world and access information previously unavailable to them, but it also offers unique economic opportunities. Internet gaming has been one of the fastest-growing brands of online commerce.

Casinos have played a part in the Caribbean’s tourist industry for decades, and online gaming is a profitable addition to gaming industries already there. Studies show that income plays a substantial role in the amount of money that a nation contributes to gambling. Most individuals living in the Caribbean earn small incomes that are insufficient for fuelling and sustaining a large gaming industry. The internet allows these nations to access individuals from wealthier countries beyond foreign tourists visiting casinos in resorts.

The Internet Gambling Prohibition and Enforcement Act, passed by the U.S. government in 2006, limits the income generated by Caribbean gaming websites by denying them access to U.S. patrons. In the past, the Caribbean nation Antigua and Barbuda took the U.S. to court at the World Trade Organization (and won) for similar interferences with their gaming industry.

Critics of the industry understandably question whether or not the GDP increase resulting from gaming correlates with the betterment of citizens’ lives. Malta, a fellow tourist-popular island located in the Mediterranean, is the poster-child for how online gaming can nourish an economy. Twelve percent of Malta’s GDP comes from online gaming, and this industry supplies jobs to 8,000 employees, which is not insignificant on a small island nation such as Malta or those in the Caribbean.

Not only is the amount of jobs created by internet gaming important to developing Caribbean economies, but also the type of jobs. Online gaming in the Caribbean is beneficial because the technology involved requires more advanced education and special training, not typical of jobs in the developing world. Caribbean governments encourage gaming because it generates specialized jobs that provide employees with skills that increase the probability of future employment in higher-level jobs.

Further efforts must be made to foster growth in the Caribbean. While online gaming in the Caribbean may not be enough to elevate whole nations out of poverty, it is one example of the creative ways in which developing nations are utilizing technology to revolutionize and diversify the landscape of their job market and economy.

– Mary Efird

Photo: Flickr