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The Indian gaming industry is growing exponentially every year into one of the key growth segments in India. It has been resilient despite the current economic downturn, and is supported by increasing disposable income, increased awareness among youngsters and console gamer’s. We are also seen as a leading destination for high end, skill-based activities. International gaming companies are now outsourcing their projects to India due to the quality of game developers.   Mobile Gaming is the Next Big Thing The launch of mobile 3G services will drive the future growth in the Country’s gaming sector. With mobile penetration reaching almost 70 per cent, most of the mobile operators are capitalizing on the growing popularity of mobile gaming by offering games for download to their respective subscribers. Multi Player Games will allow people from different parts of country compete against each other. India lives in villages and our rural population is crazy about Movies, Cricket and Mobile Phones, a sure-shot winning formula. Himanshu Pant, Co-founder of Mactabilis Arts , says it all started with ‘Sholay’, with the game “crossing the 150,000 downloads mark on GSM operators and 800,000 on CDMA phones. From ‘Rang De Basanti’ to ‘Sarkar’ and even ‘Home Delivery’, 60-odd movies have been converted into mobile games. Bollywood constitutes nearly Rs 10 crore, and is expected to touch Rs 30 crore in next two years. Downloading costs anything from Rs 50 to Rs 150 per download. On average, a Bollywood game sells 7K to 10K copies with more popular movies even going up to 25K downloads.” Zapak.com’s Social Gaming Initiative Zapak.com has now introduced its first Facebook-based game called “Zapak Tambola“. The game allows users to invite their friends, chat with them, send virtual gifts and earn virtual money and experience points. As described previously , the player is gifted with virtual money which can be spent buying tickets for tambola or simply to buy gifts, dresses, etc. With Facebook credit , users can make use of their credit cards, net-banking account and Zong when they eventually run out of cash. Missing Out on Online Gambling The recently published Information Technology Rules 2011 has imposed a blanket ban on anything “relating to” or “encouraging” gambling. Gambling is generally considered “immoral” and hence, setting up legal gambling outlets is impossible in the current climate. Poker has been around for ages but it never captured the limelight of the public eyes. It was basically an underground scene, while most of our card games fans have kept a low profile in order to avoid any public scrutiny. Considering how much society has evolved since the original act was passed, we are being a bit archaic about the whole “morality” issue. Only time will tell whether this too shall pass, and the Government sees the scope of raising taxes on customer winnings. In India, the gaming industry is likely to witness a CAGR of 53 per cent and valuation going up to $1.3 billion by 2013 from $239 million at present. With 70 per cent of the Country’s population below the age of 35 years, the trend and acceptance of Gaming together is rapidly growing among youth as it provides them with an opportunity to expand their friend circle by getting engaged in casual interactions and social games. Looking at the quality of developers we have in our own backyard, the only way is up!   Do you plug and play on the go? Are you in favour of Online Gambling? Tell us now!