E-Sports Recognized As ‘Multi-Sport Event’ In India

E-sports has been recognized as ‘multi-sport events’ and assigned to the Department of Sports under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. The move is a result of the growing demand for the inclusion of digital gaming curriculum in international sports, which led to the Government’s decision to integrate E-sports with traditional sports. Especially with esports debuting as an official medal sport at the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games 2025 (AIMAG) and entering the Olympic league with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) confirming Singapore as the host for the inaugural Olympic Esports week scheduled between June 22 and 25, 2023.

The recognition is encouraging, given that the industry suffered a setback earlier this year when e-sports were dropped as a medal event from the 2026 Commonwealth Games. The industry’s constant effort has been to establish proper infrastructure and differentiate between e-Sports and iGaming. The arena is still unregulated, and the establishment of an effective regime to maintain its integrity needs to be further explored. Until then, self-regulatory bodies such as the Federation of Esports Associations India (FEAI), the Esports Federation of India (ESFI), the E-sports Development Association of India (EDAI), and E-sports India (EI) must take the lead in protecting the interests of the associated stakeholders.