Vishal Ojha

How did you venture into the online gaming space? Which online games do you play regularly? What gaming platforms do you primarily use? (PC, console, mobile) How many hours do you typically spend gaming each week?
Started playing poker with friends in college. Searched for legal online sites for Indian players. Started playing freerolls, micros takes. I majorly play NLH tournaments. Pokerbaazi, Adda52, Pokerstars India, Natural8 India. I play on PC. 40+ hours on an average.
For how many years have you been playing online games?
About 8-9 years.
What are your educational qualifications?
B.E (Hons) Mechanical Engineering from BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus.
What skills do you think are required to play online games?
For poker: Problem solving skills, Pattern recognition, Discipline.
Does playing online game form part of your daily life? is it a part of your livelihood?
Yes, it’s part of my daily life and part of my livelihood.
What are your preferred kind of online games? What factors do you consider before putting money into any online game?
NLH tournaments. Factors: Buy in, prizepool, approximate no. of players participating, average skill level of players participating.
What skills are required to succeed in an online gaming tournament?
Understanding of Game theory, Problem solving skills, Discipline.
Have you ever experienced financial fraud or scams related to online gaming? What measures do you think should be implemented to prevent financial exploitation in online gaming?
No. Prevention against bots, people using real time assistants.
Community Engagement: Do you actively participate in gaming communities or forums? How important do you think community engagement is for the online gaming community?
Yes. Very important in order to bring this beautiful mind-sport to the masses, to guide new players, to grow and compete at the highest levels.
What do you think about addiction and dependency on online gaming?
Anything involving money can be addictive. It’s very important to make players aware of the skill factor involved and how to approach this more methodically (bankroll management)
Are you aware of the existing laws and regulations related to online gaming in your country? Do you think there should be more regulations to protect gamers' rights and safety online?
Yes. Yes, there could be some regulations in place to ban/take some strict action against people found guilty of cheating.
If there is one thing about the online gaming industry you can convey to the government, what would it be?
Poker specifically is a skill based mind-sport. It takes a lot of hard work and training to be a successful poker player. Clubbing Poker with other real money gaming industry and imposing taxes both on deposit and withdrawal is unjustified. A lot of players have trained for years and have represented India on Global stage. With these new tax regulations, it’s getting harder and harder to earn a decent living and feels like all those years of hard work has gone to waste. Would like Poker to be treated as a mind sport (like chess) and have a better tax regulation.
Are there any tournaments you have won or gaming achievements you would like to share with us?
USOP Main event & Several online tournaments

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