Entertainment
Actor Salman Khan files a lawsuit against a gaming company for ‘Selmon Bhoi’ game allegedly based on 2002 hit-and-run case
Actor Salman Khan filed a lawsuit in the Mumbai Civil Court against ‘Selmon Bhoi’, a game available on Google Play Store that is allegedly based on the actor’s infamous 2002 hit-and-run case from which he was later acquitted from all charges by the Bombay High Court in 2015. The court has ordered a temporary restraint on access to the game.
According to a report in ETimes, the court ordered the Parody Studios Pvt Ltd, the makers of the game on Monday (September 6) to stop disseminating, launching, re-launching and recreating the game or any other content relating to the actor. The court also directed the makers to take down the game from Google Play Store and all other platforms.
Salman Khan had filed a lawsuit against the developers of the game in August claiming that the game aims to tarnish his image as the name and images displayed in the game appeared to be his caricature version.
“Upon watching the game and its images, it prima facie matches with the identity of the plaintiff (Khan) and to the hit-and-run case connected to the plaintiff,” the court said.
The court further told the game developers Salman Khan’s consent was never taken before development of the game. “When the plaintiff has not given his consent for developing of the game, which is very similar to his identity and the case against him, certainly his right to privacy is being deprived and his image is also being tarnished.”
The matter is sub-judice and further hearing on the matter will take place on September 20.
Entertainment
Casino Days Reveal Internal Data on Most Popular Smartphones
International online casino Casino Days has published a report sharing their internal data on what types and brands of devices are used to play on the platform by users from the South Asian region.
Such aggregate data analyses allow the operator to optimise their website for the brands and models of devices people are actually using.
The insights gained through the research also help Casino Days tailor their services based on the better understanding of their clients and their needs.
Desktops and Tablets Lose the Battle vs Mobile
The primary data samples analysed by Casino Days reveal that mobile connections dominate the market in South Asia and are responsible for a whopping 96.6% of gaming sessions, while computers and tablets have negligible shares of 2.9% and 0.5% respectively.
The authors of the study point out that historically, playing online casino was exclusively done on computers, and attribute thе major shift to mobile that has unfolded over time to the wide spread of cheaper smartphones and mobile data plans in South Asia.
“Some of the reasons behind this massive difference in device type are affordability, technical advantages, as well as cheaper and more obtainable internet plans for mobiles than those for computers,” the researchers comment.
Xiaomi and Vivo Outperform Samsung, Apple Way Down in Rankings
Chinese brands Xiaomi and Vivo were used by 21.9% and 20.79% of Casino Days players from South Asia respectively, and together with the positioned in third place with a 18.1% share South Korean brand Samsung dominate the market among real money gamers in the region.
Cupertino, California-based Apple is way down in seventh with a user share of just 2.29%, overshadowed by Chinese brands Realme (11.43%), OPPO (11.23%), and OnePlus (4.07%).
Huawei is at the very bottom of the chart with a tiny share just below the single percent mark, trailing behind mobile devices by Motorola, Google, and Infinix.
The data on actual phone usage provided by Casino Days, even though limited to the gaming parts of the population of South Asia, paints a different picture from global statistics on smartphone shipments by vendors.
Apple and Samsung have been sharing the worldwide lead for over a decade, while current regional leader Xiaomi secured their third position globally just a couple of years ago.
Striking Android Dominance among South Asian Real Money Gaming Communities
The shifted market share patterns of the world’s top smartphone brands in South Asia observed by the Casino Days research paper reveal a striking dominance of Android devices at the expense of iOS-powered phones.
On the global level, Android enjoys a comfortable lead with a sizable 68.79% share which grows to nearly 79% when we look at the whole continent of Asia. The data on South Asian real money gaming communities suggests that Android’s dominance grows even higher and is north of the 90% mark.
Among the major factors behind these figures, the authors of the study point to the relative affordability of and greater availability of Android devices in the region, especially when manufactured locally in countries like India and Vietnam.
“And, with influencers and tech reviews putting emphasis on Android devices, the choice of mobile phone brand and OS becomes easy; Android has a much wider range of products and caters to the Asian online casino market in ways that Apple can’t due to technical limitations,” the researchers add.
The far better integration achieved by Google Pay compared to its counterpart Apple Pay has also played a crucial role in shaping the existing smartphone market trends.
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