MeitY in talks to develop a national framework for the Online Gaming Industry

The Central Government is in talks on developing a national framework for the Online Gaming Industry in the country to effectively regulate them without hampering their growth.

According to ET, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) conducted a meeting with over 40 online gaming platforms including the likes of Mobile Premier League (MPL), Dream11 etc.

Representatives from the All India Gaming Federation were also invited in the meeting which was held recently presided over by the Minister of State for Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

“The idea is to support and facilitate the growth and expansion of all gaming platforms while also effectively regulating them. However, the regulations should not impede their growth,” a senior government official said as reported by ET.

The Online Gaming Industry has been calling for a ‘code’ reportedly over the last few months. Back in December last year, several Online Gaming Platforms wrote to MeitY for the same.

According to ET, an official revealed that one of the major concerns of the meeting was the big debate over skill versus chance since no regulatory body is present to decide about the same. Along with that, the Rajasthan government’s draft Rajasthan Virtual Online Sports (Regulation) Bill 2022 was also discussed at the meeting, along with other state governments’ legislations and drafts for the same.

This is why the industry has called for a central regulatory body that would be ‘stable and predictable’ so that there are no sudden shocks to the industry. The industry also demands for amendments to the Gambling Act so that there is a clear interpretation of the law for online gaming.

As per statista’s report, the Online Gaming Industry in India values at around $1.54 billion in 2022. This industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of 15% and will soon hit the $2 billion mark. The Government has also shown interest in this industry from a taxation perspective.

The Government recently imposed a 28% GST on the online gaming industry. The panel led by Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma has also mutually agreed that the GST will be imposed on gross gaming revenue and not on a per-transaction basis. This move by the Central Government clearly discourages online gaming and betting across the country.