Asia
5G Spectrum Auction 2022 – How 5G is going to revolutionize the Indian esports & gaming industry
Four companies, including Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, Vodafone Idea (Vi) and an Adani Group entity have put in applications to participate in India’s first auction of 5g airwaves starting July 26, 2022. 5G, short for the fifth-generation cellular technology, promises to exponentially raise the speed and data capacity of wireless networks. For data-hungry India, the upcoming 5G auctions will herald another telecom revolution. It goes beyond super-fast downloads and uploads, glitch-free multiplayer video games, live streaming, and real-time gaming.
5G will accelerate esports & video gaming growth in India in multiple ways:
- No latency & lag
- Multiplayer mobile gaming
- Cloud gaming
- Growth in user base in tier 2 and tier 3 cities
- Unlocking AR & VR opportunity
- Video Game live Streaming
- High-end game downloads and updates in a jiffy
Inputs shared by esports and video gaming industry stakeholders on how 5G is going to revolutionize the industry:
- Animesh Agarwal, Founder and CEO at 8bit Creatives, a leading gaming talent management agency and an ex-esports athlete himself:
Internet penetration and accessibility are the backbones of esports and mobile gaming. With the advent of 5G technology, users will get better connectivity speed which will, in turn, allow them to access and play high-resolution games. The last thing a gamer ever wants is lag, 5G is expected to help us say goodbye to lagging issues, once and for all. The upcoming metaverse, and all virtual reality technology that again would completely elevate the gaming experience, would be facilitated in large parts by 5G. One of the reasons why gaming has become so popular in the last few years is the multiplayer & social experience that games are now able to provide, and 5G is expected to make that even smoother. To be honest, 5G will impact gaming in more ways than one.
Last year, telecom giant, Airtel, hosted India’s first-ever cloud gaming demo on a LIVE Airtel 5G test network, and the results were outstanding. S8UL gamers were among a few to experience it firsthand & I myself also attended the event with the team. Our pro gamers, Mortal aka Naman Mathur and 8bit Mamba aka Salman Ahmad tested cloud gaming on the Airtel 5G test network at Manesar. They used mid-segment smartphones connected to a 3500 MHz high capacity spectrum band, recording speeds of over 1 Gbps and a latency of 10 milliseconds. Both the elite gamers agreed that 5G technology would have an impact on the efficiency and experience of online multiplayer genre games such as battle royale and racing games.
- Mr Vishwalok Nath,Director, Esports Premier League:
5G is going to be a transformative step for the gaming industry across the globe. The highlight of this new generation of communication includes even faster download speeds, lower latency, hyper localization, increased network capacity, and better reliability. This leap in new features and innovation will enable game developers and storytellers to work on more immersive and engrossing gaming experiences. Faster downloads mean faster delivery of existing experiences with the ability to get more complex, large, and immersive worlds to the gamers. The industry has already spoken about cloud gaming and the impact of 5G on this technology. Though cloud gaming technology is still in its infancy, it still holds immense potential in democratizing gaming and bringing it to the masses. 5G will ensure a better cloud gaming experience for gamers with the help of Edge computing. It will also allow gamers without high-end gaming systems or hardware to play the latest AAA games.
Besides cloud gaming, 5G will also allow gamers to access newer experiences like AR and VR-based games right from their handheld devices. It is worth noting that it will be a while before 5G reaches the level of adoption we first saw with 4G but the wait will be worth it.
- Rohit Agarwal, Founder & Director, Alpha Zegus, the next-gen marketing agency specializing in the domains of gaming & lifestyle:
Data prices (per GB) in India are among the lowest in the world. That, combined with super affordable smartphones starting from INR 5000, has completely revolutionized the gaming industry. We are now living in an era where a Tier-3 kid can enjoy casual gaming in good settings without hiccups.
Coming to 5G, we will see these casual gamers transform into streamers. Gamers from every part of India will be able to access cloud gaming platforms, thereby allowing them to play and enjoy 100s of high-quality games. This, in turn, will allow these gamers to create a niche of their own and start developing communities around them – all in all, creating more content creators & content consumers in the Indian gaming ecosystem.
Lastly, brands will also be able to leverage more complex (and higher quality) advertising innovations, be it in the metaspace or otherwise, since data speeds and usage will be of even lesser concern to the audience.
- Mr Sagar Nair, Co-Founder & CEO, Qlan, The Gamer’s Social Network:
At nearly 500 million, India is currently second in terms of smartphone users in the world after China. the launch of the 5G data network will further boost the mobile gaming sector in India. More Data speed = More data transfer. We have heard professional gamers talk about “ping” many times and how it affects their gameplay and how even a slight drop can cost them the game, 5g aims to eliminate the loss of data packets being sent every second. 5G will unlock new economic opportunities and societal benefits which is very good news for Qlan as surfing through the web and social media platforms become very smooth with the introduction of such speed in the market. Even if you have a brief look at 4g, the speeds that it can achieve are better than most people’s wifi and most gamers prefer using a stable mobile data connection compared to choppy wifi. 5g aims to provide users with a consistent and lightning-fast internet connection, on the tap of their fingers which also holds the potential to increase the number of gamers in India. 5G is designed to support a 100x increase in traffic capacity and network efficiency compared to that of 4g. In essence, the mention of 5g technology put a smile on the face of every gamer out there!
- Mr Lokesh Suji, Director, Esports Federation of India& Vice President of the Asian Esports Federation (AESF):
5G is going to bring about a paradigm shift in the cloud gaming sector, the superfast speeds, massive bandwidth and low latency of 5G Ultra Wideband are going to make gaming more collaborative, competitive, affordable and accessible. The advent of 5G is set to be a complete game-changer in every way. With growing smartphone penetration and a vast youth population, 5G-backed cloud gaming could spread to remote areas and offer gamers the right ecosystem to compete and excel in the international arena.
Streaming and watching live games experience will be enhanced with this disruption in technology, Video game updates are another big nightmare for our gamers, and these are not small 5-10 Mb updates, these are like 1 GB updates and it takes ample time to download, with 5G fast speed, the downloads will happen in a jiffy.
The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) today said 10 Chinese nationals and 26 Filipinos have been arrested in two separate operations against illegal gaming operations and online scams in Laguna and Parañaque City since Tuesday.
The first operation in Biñan, Laguna on Tuesday, May 1, resulted in the arrest of 16 people who were running an illegal online raffle on Facebook. The raiders are from the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP-ACG) and the PAGCOR security group.
The suspects, which run the FB Page Lucky Dream 4, were caught red-handed in their office located inside a subdivision while livestreaming their 50th raffle event.
Earlier today, May 2, another group of suspects that included 10 Chinese nationals were arrested by joint elements of the CIDG-NCR and PAGCOR inside a house in Multinational Village, Parañaque for violation of the Anti Trafficking in Persons Act (RA 9208), Alien Registration Act (RA 562) and Cybercrime Prevention Act (RA 10175).
PAGCOR Chairman and CEO Alejandro H. Tengco said the arrests are part of the state gaming agency’s intensified campaign against illegal online gambling and other illicit activities through strengthened collaboration with law enforcement agencies.
“We have been receiving reports of illegal online activities including those in social media platforms. As the country’s gaming regulator, it is our duty to protect the public – especially the youth — from these illegal online gambling sites,” he said.
PAGCOR Senior Vice President for Security Cluster Raul Villanueva said Lucky Dream 4, which has 111,000 followers on Facebook, was conducting live online raffles that offered second-hand modified motorcycles as prizes.
Villanueva said that in one raffle event, the group can sell an average of 40,000 to 50,000 tickets, with each ticket costing Php40.
“They have amassed over Php8 million from the time they started this illegal online operation because in one draw, they can sell as many as 50k tickets,” Villanueva said.
“Ang masaklap nito, karamihan sa miyembro ng grupong ito ay kabataan. Ang pinaka-matanda sa kanila ay 27 years old pa lang,” he said.
“The Lucky Dream 4 group is obviously engaged in an illegal online gaming activity. Negosyo na ang ginagawa nila. They need to secure a license from PAGCOR if they want to operate an online gaming platform,” Villanueva added.
In the Parañaque raid, Villanueva said authorities arrested seven male and three female Chinese nationals believed to have been part of a group that managed to escape from an earlier raid on a large gaming compound in Bamban, Tarlac last March.
Nine Filipino female workers were also rescued, while one 1 Filipino male serving as a bodyguard was arrested for possession of an undocumented .45 caliber pistol.
The raiders also confiscated around 75 mobile phones, 30 desktop computers, 50 laptops, assorted credit cards, two cars and one motorcycle along with assorted Chinese government documents.
Two vaults were also found in the house located at 18 Teheran Street inside the exclusive subdivision.
Police said the Chinese suspects were engaged in scamming activities such as love and cryptocurrency scams similar to the illegal activities in the Bamban, Tarlac compound which was raided last March.
The post 2 RAIDS NET 10 CHINESE, 26 PINOYS FOR ILLEGAL GAMES, ONLINE SCAMS appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
TalkEsport, India’s leading esports media platform, announced today the successful closure of its pre-series A funding round, securing a significant investment of $1 million from Saswat Ventures. The substantial investment underscores TalkEsport’s robust growth trajectory and reaffirms its position as a pioneering force in the esports industry.
Founded in 2011, TalkEsport was set up with a vision to bring timely news and updates to gaming communities worldwide. As India’s oldest esports media platform, the company now caters to millions of gamers worldwide through its website and social media channels. TalkEsport plans to utilize the investment to scale up its core website while launching a highly interactive application for its audience and setting up a state-of-the-art production studio in Mumbai. Through it, the company will be launching exclusive content IPs focused on gaming and esports.
“We are delighted to welcome Saswat Ventures as our strategic partner,” exclaimed Deepak Ojha, Founder and CEO of TalkEsport. “Their belief in our vision and commitment to the esports ecosystem align seamlessly with our mission to redefine gaming experiences globally. With this investment, we will be scaling up our newsroom to cater to gaming communities worldwide while launching new content IPs targeted towards Indian and international audiences.”
Saswat Ventures, a family fund set up by Mr. BL Sharma, Principal, shares a vision of catapulting TalkEsport into a global phenomenon. Mr. Sharma has businesses across the country and expressed his confidence in TalkEsport’s potential to revolutionize esports media and connect with a vast audience of passionate gamers worldwide, “We believe in TalkEsport’s potential to become a global platform for esports enthusiasts worldwide.”
Trilochan Sharma, a seasoned expert in compliance matters, joins TalkEsport’s board as the Director of Compliance. His wealth of experience will ensure adherence to regulatory standards and bolster the company’s governance framework.
In addition to this pivotal investment, TalkEsport is proud to announce key developments that highlight its commitment to innovation and growth:
Production Studio in Mumbai
TalkEsport is excited to unveil its state-of-the-art production studio in Mumbai. This cutting-edge facility will serve as the epicenter for creating high-quality esports content, launching content IPs, live broadcasts, interviews, and immersive gaming experiences.
Pranav Nalawade, the Editor-in-chief of TalkEsport, said, “Our new era of esports coverage will begin not only with TalkEsport’s revolutionary approach in publishing news and covering esports events but also high-quality esports content courtesy of our new production studio. As one of the oldest esports media platforms, we have built an audience that relies on us for our history of trustworthy and reliable news. Now, we want to double up on this audience, reforming the way content around esports is consumed in India and abroad through podcasts, media, short-form content, and analytical stories – both in the form of video and text.”
Upcoming Mobile App Launch
Furthermore, TalkEsport is gearing up for the launch of its mobile application soon. This innovative app promises to redefine how gamers access news, engage with esports communities, and participate in live tournaments, all from the convenience of their mobile devices.
“Proceeds of the $1 million will be utilized in creating a robust team of gaming enthusiasts and expanding our global reach,” added Deepak. “This investment not only propels TalkEsport’s growth initiatives but also fuels our mission to provide unparalleled experiences for esports enthusiasts worldwide.”
Through its application, esports viewers will be able to get live coverage of esports tournaments, scores, and interviews. Additionally, they will be able to participate in community tournaments, thus providing an end-to-end immersive experience from the convenience of their mobile devices.
The media company continues to lead the charge in transforming the esports landscape, fostering community engagement, and pushing the boundaries of gaming innovation. The company’s dedication to excellence, coupled with strategic partnerships and visionary leadership, sets the stage for an exciting chapter in esports media.
The post Esports media platform TalkEsport raises $1 million in pre-series A funding round appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Award-winning iGaming supplier in regulated markets Delasport has just signed a sports deal with Philippines’s number 1 operator OKBET.
The leading software developer will provide sports-services to their new partner, enhancing the experience of sports bettors in the Philippines even further.
“We’re proud to supply our services to such a strong partner as OKBET, and to an exciting and steadily growing market as the Philippines”, Delasport’s CEO Oren Cohen Shwartz comments on the agreement.
Regulated Philippines is marking a stable 5% year-to-year growth with the number of users expected to reach almost 6 million by 2029.
This is yet another deal for Delasport, with the global supplier’s expansion in regulated markets happening at full force.
Same goes for OKBET who have been holding the number one operator spot in iGaming in the Philippines for a long time now.
“I’m excited that OKBET and Delasports are joining forces to redefine the landscape of online sports gaming in the Philippines”, OKBET’s COO Wayne Thong also comments on the deal. “This partnership combines OKBET’s local market expertise with Delasports’ global industry leadership, creating new opportunities for innovation and customer satisfaction. OKBET and Delasports share a common vision for the future: a vibrant and dynamic platform that caters to the diverse interests of sports enthusiasts. By combining cutting-edge technology with a deep understanding of user preferences, this collaboration aims to set new standards for the industry.”
The post Delasport Signs a Sports Deal with Philippines’ Leading Regulated Operator OKBET appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
-
Baltics3 weeks agoLithuania’s Nese enters iGaming with a record sponsorship deal
-
Latest News6 days agoThe Importance of Data Quality Review Checks in the Gaming Industry
-
Asia1 week agoOnlyplay Enters into Strategic Partnership with Ritchie Rabbit
-
Africa4 weeks ago
BMM Testlabs Continues Its Expansion in Africa with New Licenses in Botswana and Nigeria to Test Land-Based and Digital Products
-
Africa4 weeks ago
KingMakers’ Nigerian operating business, BetKing, selects Genius Sports to power growth with in-play trading services
-
Conferences in Europe3 weeks agoAltenar becomes General Sponsor of EEGS 2024
-
EurAsia4 weeks agoFastex Forges Partnership with Olympionic Foundation to Boost Sports Development in Armenia
-
Compliance Updates4 weeks agoBooming Games secures Romanian B2B license
