With the rise of Esports, the Indian Government is also ready to extend its commitment and has now announced a National Esports LAN Event. The announcement came from the Director of the Esports Federation of India (ESFI), Lokesh Suji who also clarified the definition of esports and how it is categorized to clear any remaining confusion.
During the conference, Suji made it clear that gambling, fantasy sports and any form of card games like Teen Patti, and Rummy are not esports. He also clarified that playing casual games or real money games also does not count as esports. As for the National Esports LAN Event, dates will be revealed soon.
These events are a way to further boost the competitive scene across the country. This comes after the India Dota 2 team managed to qualify for OXY 2024 for the first time and will be competing alongside 37 other teams from across the globe.
A huge step after the initial acceptance of esports in India
Back in December 2022, the Inter-Ministerial Taskforce formed by the central government recognized esports as part of multi-sports events under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports while simultaneously putting all matters relating to online gaming under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. This move was lauded internationally, including the International Esports Federation (IESF).
Most recently, seven of the most popular gamers/content creators of India met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi for further discussion of the Indian Gaming Industry. The meeting saw the PM and gamers talk extensively about different topics, including esports and online security.
Also Read: Gamers meet PM Narendra Modi to discuss growth of gaming sector in India
Esports has been on the rise across the country, with several big events taking place in the last year. However, it is now time to go even beyond and take on international challenges and for that, players will need support from everyone.