E-gaming to be among 3 fastest growing sectors after regulations: EGF CEO- QHN

Online gaming will be among the top three fastest-growing industries in India once the clarity on the regulations is received, Anuraag Saxena, chief executive officer of E-Gaming Federation (EGF), told Business Standard on Tuesday.

On the sidelines of the Indian Gaming Convention (IGC) in New Delhi, Saxena said that regulations and redressal mechanisms create trust in the industry.

“Trust is the foundational ingredient because of which many stakeholders come into an industry,” he said. 

“Once there is regulatory clarity, I would say online gaming would be one of the three fastest growing industries in the country.”

In July, the Centre announced a 28 per cent goods and services tax (GST) on online gaming effective October 1. Currently, it is under review for six months.

Saxena said that globally, taxes on the gaming industry have been in the range of 12 to 18 per cent. The taxation in India needs to be aligned with the global standards.

“We are happy with whatever tax is applied on whichever basis as long as ethical Indian players and companies are not disadvantaged because of that,” he said.

“At the end of the day, if the same rules apply to and are enforced on everybody, we will find a way to self-align within the industry to make it work.”

On the impact of GST on online gaming, Saxena said that the industry is in a “wait and watch” mode and the true impact of the move will only be known after the period of review is over. However, the direction of regulations is positive.

“We are very happy with the direction in which the regulations are going. As far as the specific taxation is concerned, we all will have to wait for six months to see how it pans out in reality,” he said.