Manish is the CEO of Nazara Technologies Ltd. An IIM-A alumnus, Manish is passionate about building and scaling consumer internet products for Indians especially in the media and entertainment space. He has over 20 years’ experience working with companies like Unilever, Microsoft, rediff.com, UTV and Reliance Entertainment. At present, he is busy establishing Nazara as India’s first and largest Gaming and Sports Media Company.
Roland is the CEO of All India Gaming Federation (AIGF) the apex self-regulated body for the Indian online gaming Industry. With over 25 years’ experience in business strategy, marketing, and sales, Roland is an accomplished leader in the media & entertainment and online gaming space. His last assignment was of the Chief Brand Officer at Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited. Roland has built leading global media brands, and created strong IPs in sports and media. Roland is a guest speaker at some of the leading Management Institutes in India and abroad.
Anurag is the founder of Penta Esports, a new age esports company with a vision to revolutionise the gaming ecosystem in India. Anurag has over 25 years of experience in business consulting, project management and system design integration. For the past decade he has been involved with the gaming industry, heading development of games on more than five platforms. He played an instrumental role in the development of India’s first multiplayer wireless game. Recently, he has shifted his focus to esports, having worked with and consulted multiple leading esports companies. He has held lead positions at companies like Paradox, Red Octane, Riot Games, Reliance Jio and has consulted brands like Paytm First Games and Esports Players League.
Gowree has been a practising lawyer for more than 20 years. She leads the IP, Technology, Media and Entertainment law practice at Nishith Desai Associates. Gowree is a member of the International Masters of Gaming Law and specialises in navigating through the intricacies that line the complex laws around technology, media, telecoms and gaming. She is an alumnus of the ILS Law College, Pune.
Welcome to the 17th episode of Moneycontrol Masterclass, an offering from India's leading financial news platform, focussed on helping readers and viewers understand events and topics that really matter to them. India's overall mobile gaming market is set to more than triple in size to $6-7 billion by 2025, from $1.8 billion in 2021. The government-imposed lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic further accelerated the growth of these games. Mobile app downloads have increased by 50 percent and consequently, user engagement has gone up by 20 percent. The industry has attracted nearly $1 billion in investment in the last six months and is expected to generate about 60,000 to 80,000 new jobs by 2025.
But India's booming gaming and esports sector is often in the cross-hairs of state governments, who have been clamping down on them. The Karnataka Government recently removed the distinction between the game of skill and game of chance, thereby bringing skill-based gaming startups under its purview. But can there be a middle ground between a thriving industry and a government that wants to protect users? Can the Government be more specific and identify games that encourage betting instead of a blanket ban on all money-based games?
These are some of the questions we will be discussing with an ace panel consisting of Nazara Technologies CEO Manish Agarwal, AIGF CEO Roland Landers, Penta Esports founder Anurag Khurana and lawyer Gowree Gokhale of Nishith Desai Associates. Tune in LIVE and ask your questions on Friday, October 22nd at 6 pm.
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