DreamHack India will be taking place alongside Hyderabad Comic Con from November 15 to 17

DreamHack India, the country’s biggest gaming festival, is marking its fifth anniversary this year. Over time, it has solidified its place as a key event in India’s gaming and esports calendar, offering thrilling LAN tournaments across multiple esports titles, cosplay competitions, tech exhibitions, meet-and-greet sessions with popular content creators and streamers, and the popular Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) zones.

This year, NODWIN Gaming, a leader in new-age youth entertainment, gaming, and esports, in collaboration with the leading ticketing and live entertainment platform Insider.in, will be hosting DreamHack x Hyderabad Comic Con, the country’s largest pop culture celebration, from November 15 to 17.

Here’s a rundown of the tournaments happening this year, contested over three days and boasting a combined prize pool of INR 45+ lakh:

1. Snapdragon Pro Series (SPS)

Title: Call of Duty: Mobile (COD:M)
Prize Pool: INR 24 lakh
Number of teams: 6

One of the biggest draws at the event, the Snapdragon Pro Series will feature COD:M will feature intense competition amongst six professional teams going head-to-head for the title’s biggest prize pool at a LAN tournament in India of INR 24 lakh.

2. OMEN Campus Quest Season 2

Title: VALORANT
Prize Pool: INR 5 lakh
Number of teams: 6

For fans of tactical shooters, this VALORANT competition will feature the nation’s leading six campus teams battling it out for glory. The prize pool distribution will award INR 3 lakh to the winners, INR 1 lakh to the runners-up, and INR 50,000 each to both third and fourth places.

3. PAN FEST

Title: Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI)
Prize Pool: INR 2.4 lakh
Format: 8 lobbies per day
Maps: Erangel and Miramar

PAN FEST is the ultimate battleground for BGMI enthusiasts, featuring daily action across eight lobbies, with the winner taking home INR 10,000. The tournament will be open to everyone on a first-come, first-served basis, and players will need to register on-site at the venue.

4. KO Fight Night

Titles: Tekken 8, Super Mario Bros Ultimate, and Street Fighter VI
Prize Pool: INR 4.5 lakh
Format: Double Elimination Bracket system, 1v1 Matches

KO Fight Night is the longest-running fighting games tournament, taking place this time at DreamHack x Hyderabad Comic Con. It will feature three titles and will be contested in the double elimination format.

Tekken 8 will offer the lion’s share of the KO Fight Night’s prize pool, providing INR 3.6 lakh, with the winner securing INR 1.6 lakh and the runner-up receiving INR 80,000. The title will feature 128 players, with all matches played in a best-of-three format, and the Grand Finals being played as a best-of-five match.

Super Mario Bros Ultimate will feature a prize pool of INR 60,000, with the winner receiving INR 30,000. All matches will be played in a best-of-three format within a single elimination bracket system, while matches from the Top 4 will be best of five.

Street Fighter VI will have a total prize pool of INR 30,000, distributed as INR 10,000 for the winner each day across three days. Each day will feature 32 players, with all rounds played in a best-of-three format until the Top 8. Matches from the Top 8 to the Grand Finals will be best of five, with the Grand Finals allowing a bracket reset and played as a best-of-five showdown.

5. Chess Championship

Title: Chess
Prize Pool: INR 5 lakh
Format: Rapid and Blitz

DreamHack x Hyderabad Comic Con will feature chess for enthusiasts who can look forward to intense battles of brainpower in two formats – Rapid and Blitz. The Rapid format, which is a longer format featuring games of more than 15 minutes, will offer INR 3 lakh of the prize pool. The Blitz format on the other hand comprises shorter games of around 3 to 10 minutes and will account for INR 2 lakh of the prize pool.

6. Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)

Categories: Mobile, PC, and Console
Prize Pool: INR 4.4 lakh

The BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) segment allows players to bring their devices and compete in a wide range of titles. PC titles will include an overall prize pool of INR 2.4 lakh across FPS games and other titles such as Spectre Divide, THE FINALS, Rocket League and Brawlhalla.

Mobile titles will feature a prize pool of INR 1.4 lakh for popular battle royale titles, eFootball, World Cricket Championship 3 (WCC 3), and Rocket League Side Swipe. Console games will have a prize pool of INR 60,000 where players will compete in games like Tekken 8, Street Fighter, WWE and FIFA.

7. Retro and Board Games

Categories: Table Top and Retro Zones
Prize Pool: INR 95,000

The retro and board game tournaments provide a nostalgic escape from the high-intensity esports competitions.

The board games will include Monopoly, Ludo, Carrom, Snakes & Ladders, and UNO.

The Retro Zone will feature Tekken on PlayStation 1, Contra, Pacman, and Tetris.

Attendees will be able to enjoy access to DreamHack x Hyderabad Comic Con with a single ticket. The tickets are now available on Insider.in | Paytm, alongside the official websites of Dreamhack India and Comic Con India.

For further updates and information regarding DreamHack x Hyderabad Comic Con 2024, follow NODWIN Gaming & DreamHack India on social media:

YouTube: NODWIN Gaming YouTube Channel
Instagram: @nodwingaming, @dreamhack_india
Twitter: @NodwinGaming
Facebook: NODWINGaming
Website:dreamhack.com/india/

At a conference for gambling regulators from all around the world, the Danish Gambling Authority has been awarded “Best regulatory campaign”. The award was given for the Danish Gambling Authority’s campaign “The One-Armed Bandit”, which on social media highlighted the consequences of gambling for young people under the age of 18.

The award was presented by a jury from the International Association of Gaming Regulators, an association of 81 gambling authorities from around the world. Every year, they gather for a conference to discuss current gambling topics across countries. This year, the conference was held in Rome under the heading “Navigate the future of gaming regulation in a transforming world”.

It was a proud Director of the Danish Gambling Authority, Anders Dorph, who received the statuette in front of the 400 participants at the conference gala dinner.

“I am incredibly proud and happy that we have won this award! It is a very special recognition and honour that our colleagues from all over the world have chosen our campaign,” said the Director.

Campaign personifies gambling addiction

Despite the fact that most types of gambling have an age limit of 18, a study by the Danish Gambling Authority in 2023 showed that 15% of young people aged 15-17 have gambled.

To prevent this and to prevent young people from becoming addicted to gambling, the Danish Gambling Authority launched the campaign “The One-Armed Bandit” in December last year, targeting young people aged 14 to 17.

The campaign talks about the potential consequences of gambling in a humorous and exaggerated way.

It does this through the fictional character, “The One-Armed Bandit”, who is the personification of gambling addiction. In videos on social media, the One-Armed Bandit tries to lure young people to gamble in unorthodox ways. He uses humour, sarcasm and provocative language to achieve his goal.

To spread awareness of the One-Armed Bandit among the target audience, the Danish Gambling Authority used influencers, among other things.

“It’s a very different campaign from our previous campaigns. It required completely new approaches and a lot of courage to reach a new and very young target group. The people we wanted to reach are very hard to reach with campaigns, but with “The One-Armed Bandit” we hit the mark and I’m very proud of that,” said Anders Dorph.

International recognition

When the nomination was written and sent to the jury for evaluation, Anders Dorph and the rest of the Danish Gambling Authority were very excited: “It’s one thing for us in little Denmark to think it was an unconventional campaign, but would our colleagues in the rest of the world understand the irony or would they think it was really about being enticed to play?”

The concern was put to rest when Anders Dorph, on behalf of the Danish Gambling Authority, lifted the trophy for the award, which was won in competition with three other countries’ campaigns.

“There was a great diversity in the nominees’ submissions, reflecting our members’ increasing efforts to improve the regulation of the gambling market,” said Sarah Kelly, Vice President of IAGR.

Campaign with impact

Subsequent surveys among the target audience showed that the One-Armed Bandit had actually made them reflect on their relationship with gambling: 44% said the campaign had made them think about how often they gamble and how much money they spend and 41% indicated that they have talked to their friends about how difficult it can be to control their gambling.

“It’s fantastic to be able to say that we have made a difference,” said Anders Dorph, who is also aware that the great results are a contributing factor to the authority being able to take home the international award from Rome.

He is joined by Sarah Kelly from IAGR: “The winners stood out for their commitment to improving standards to regulate the gaming market for the benefit of both industry and consumers.”

The agency Advice, in collaboration with the Danish Gambling Authority, is behind the campaign, which features comedian David Minerba in the role of the One-Armed Bandit.

The former President will headline the World Regulatory Briefing taking place on Monday 20 January where he will address the topic of ‘Regulation and Revitalisation’ and the requirements needed to balance economic growth with community protection.

A critic of the populist movements sweeping the region, he will outline his business-centric approach to the development of Mexico, and the opportunities which exist for operators in the region.

Previewing the keynote, which reflects the importance of Latin America as a leading voice in the global gambling industry, international broadcaster and Chair of the 2025 ICE World Gaming Forum Nadine Dereza, whose career has seen her interview  politicians including Kofi Annan, Condoleezza Rice, Ban Ki-moon and Gerhard Schröder said: “As the President responsible for rationalising Mexico’s complex gambling framework in the early 2000s, Vicente Fox paved the way for easier gaming legalisation, going on to grant the overwhelming majority of the current 763 licenses in the market.

“The former President has previously gone on the record as favouring casinos as a tax benefit to reduce Mexico’s dependence on unpredictable oil income, and for growing the local tourism industry, while emphasising the need to ensure they operate in a controlled and supervised manner”

Providing insight to the dynamics of the market, Clarion Gaming Senior Conference Producer Damien-Ashton-Wellman added: “With online sports betting predicted to be worth $1.24bn this year alone, and with a projected annual growth rate of 8.45% by 2029, Mexico is one of the hottest markets in Latin America after Brazil.

“The latest election has put it front and centre of the gaming industry after the country’s Supreme Court ruled that the outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s ban on slot machines was unconstitutional. This landmark ruling not only challenges the existing restrictions on slot machines but also opens the door for the introduction of roulette and dice games in Mexican casinos.

“President Fox’s attendance at ICE adds to the event’s industry-defining reputation for bringing together key-decision makers and for providing a gateway to Latin America. He will also participate in an exclusive invite-only roundtable meeting of iGB Executive, Clarion Gaming’s new annual C-level membership community.”

A charismatic reformer and noted economist, Vicente Fox is credited for playing a vital role in Mexico’s democratisation, and with strengthening the country’s economy after having previously served as CEO and President of Coca-Cola in Mexico.

After leaving office in 2006, President Fox and his wife Marta founded Centro Fox, an education non-profit dedicated to discovering, exercising, and harnessing the leadership qualities in the Global South. The non-profit is now housed at the Vicente Fox Centre of Studies, Library, and Museum in San Cristobal, Mexico. He has also served as Co-President of Centrist Democrat International, the umbrella organisation for global centre-right political parties.