In an exclusive interview, Amin Rozani, Founder and Group CEO of Spartan Group, shares key insights into his company’s flagship mega-event India Online Poker Championship (IOPC). The online gaming industry maverick talks about the major highlights of IOPC 2023, shares his views on why poker dominates the online gaming industry
New Delhi (India), February 2: The India Online Poker Championship (IOPC) is the country’s longest-running and biggest poker tournament. It began as an online dimension to Spartan Poker’s offline event, India Poker Championship (IPC). The first series was a small-scale affair with a modest turn-out, but in time the event grew in popularity and today attracts players from all over the country.
“Today IOPC is the country’s premier poker series that happens bi-annually. We first began the marquee event in 2015, with a guaranteed prize pool of about INR 7 lakhs. Over the years, the event has grown considerably with our 14th edition offering players INR 43 Crore in guaranteed cash prizes.”, says Amin Rozani reminiscing on his journey with IOPC.
The 18-day tournament, IOPC, kicked off on 19th January 2023 and will conclude on 5th February 2023. It is packed with 142 remarkable tournaments and the prestigious ‘Golden Crown’ made of 18-carat gold and 0.6-carat diamonds. This edition of IOPC will also see the biggest-ever leaderboard in the history of Indian Poker, with a mammoth 1.5 Crore up for grabs!
“Over the years we have witnessed millions of skilled individuals putting forth their A-game, winning amazing prizes, and having a boisterous time overall. The trust and confidence of poker-buffs in IOPC have been the fuel for us to grow IOPC and offer a better gaming experience with every edition.”, says Amin Rozani.
The ubiquitous nature of the internet, coupled with the sharp decline in smartphone prices, has led to a spurt in all things digital, including online gaming. The gaming business in India has developed dramatically over the past few years, with over 450 million active gamers and streamers, and more entering the fray daily. Within the sector, Real Money Gaming (RMG) is one of the fastest-growing segments. The market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 25% to reach USD 5 billion in 2026, a whopping 3X growth from the USD 1.6 billion it garnered in 2021. Source – https://redseer.com/newsletters/casual-card-games-leading-indias-real-gaming-market-to-a-3x-growth/
Poker is the most popular card game in the world for a reason. It’s a game full of surprises, and the permutations and combinations are limitless. There are several formats, multi-player gaming, strategies, and games to choose from. And, while it may appear simple in principle, it is a game that demands abilities that are simple to acquire but difficult to master. Preparing for a championship involves both preparation and discipline. Poker is an adrenaline-pumping, exciting game that may be played with friends or against worthy opponents, and the prize at the end adds to the thrill and excitement.
Several factors contribute to the rising popularity of online poker – the increased usage of smartphones and the internet, the increase in the use of digital payments and e-wallets, improved technology for better gaming interface and an overall increase in the awareness and adoption of online gaming, in general, and poker, in particular. Traditional sports have physical/spatial limits; however, because of its reliance on digital networks, Online Poker is more fast-paced and scalable.
Poker has been mentioned in several academic studies as a game of skill. It is a game in which experience, knowledge, and fundamental mathematical principles far outweigh the element of chance. A certain degree of chance always exists in every sport ever played, but players all around the world aim to lessen this aspect by continually making smarter mathematical judgments. The players are known to constantly train themselves on the most recent strategies developed in the sport while also utilizing their experience to gain an advantage over their opponents.
Thanks to events like IOPC, which have helped develop a burgeoning community of professional and upcoming poker players in the country, the game has seen great growth in the country. Also, with low-buy-in tournaments, IOPC has spread to the most distant regions of the country, providing Poker with the much-needed boost it has been yearning for years.
“Poker’s versatility as a game is what makes it so appealing.”, Amin Rozani said, “We see participation from all strata and demographics across India at IOPC, which is the country’s greatest poker tournament. Initially, we saw just the professional fraternity avidly preparing for and anticipating the event and having a good time during the tournament. However, in recent years, we have observed an increase in young professional poker players from smaller towns in India, many of whom make a career from the game.”
It is easy to be bogged down by the thought of having to choose between multiple poker platforms on which to set base and enjoy the game. However, a player can narrow down the possibilities by checking the following factors that all genuine and safe poker platforms like Spartan Poker employ.
Spartan poker is accredited by prominent certification agencies to assure fair gameplay on its platform. Real money games require integral factors like shuffling cards to distribution, dealing, and choosing the joker card to be impartial in order to keep the game fair. Platforms like Spartan Poker work on RNG (Random Number Generator) certification to ensure this. It generates a completely random pattern of cards that rules out the predictability factor so nobody can influence it.
Spartan Poker conducts due diligence with regard to the documentation it requests from players, so that the winnings may be trusted. It insists that any cash-out request will be executed only after the PAN card associated with the profile has been verified and that the cash-out will be deposited only in a bank account associated with that PAN card.
Furthermore, Spartan Poker has already generated a CAPTCHA (Completely Automated Public Turing Test to Tell Computers and Humans Apart), which protects the website against bots and performs random checks at tables by generating and grading tests that humans can pass but computer programs cannot.
The seamless integration between the gaming software and the accounts management system gives the player the confidence to deposit freely and withdraw whenever they want to enjoy their well-deserved earnings, which is the second most important feature to practice responsible online gaming for real money. Spartan Poker has ensured that this is the case. The company has developed a comprehensive and watertight system to ensure that all deposited funds are systematically associated with the players’ accounts. Players can quickly transfer funds to their poker wallets quickly using a variety of payment channels. To ensure that the money reaches the rightful owner on time, all withdrawals are routed through the bank account associated with the player’s PAN card.
“Simply put, at Spartan Poker we strive to always provide a unique, responsible, immersive, complete, and rewarding gaming experience for casual and professional gamers alike.” Added Rozani.
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