Even as a debate rages on whether online gaming can be equated with gambling and whether a high taxation regime is really conducive for this employment and revenue-generating sector, the Indian government seems to have decided to engage with the stakeholders — this time on a serious note with the involvement of other government organisations too.

On June 7, according to a report in Outlook, representatives of gaming companies have been invited for a meeting to discuss a way forward.

“This is the first time a clutch of important Central ministries have shown interest to make the online gaming operators conduct their businesses in a regulated manner. Apart from MeitY, scheduled meeting will be attended by representatives of the  (Ministries of) Home, Information and Broadcasting, sports and youth affairs and  (government think-tank) NITI Aayog,” the Outlook report said Monday.

The report also quoted Amrit Kiran Singh of rummy gaming company Gameskraft  as saying that the federal government “has recognised the contribution” of the skilled online games industry of approximately creating over 200,000 jobs and reaching an economy of USD 2 billion in just five years.

“I do believe these are the first steps toward ring-fencing sectors with high potential so that they can be nurtured and their full potential harnessed for the country’s good,” Singh added.

Meanhwile, though Indianbroadcastingworld.com could not officially confirm it, but industry is abuzz that the government, which has been working on draft regulations for the online gaming sector, could share some details of the proposals with the gaming companies at the meeting.

Lawmakers Call For Online Gaming Regulations: The online gaming sector has been discussed within and outside the Indian parliament by lawmakers.

For example, in December, voicing concern over children getting addicted to mobile games, Rajya Sabha (Upper House) member and senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi had demanded that the government should regulate the online gaming industry and impose a uniform tax on it.

Raising the issue during the Zero Hour, he said these online games have now given way to gambling and betting. Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu had then asked Ashwini Vaishnaw, who is Minister of Communications, Electronics & Information Technology, to take note of this issue.

“Consult the Law Ministry and do the needful. It’s a big menace,” Naidu had remarked.

Indian Industry Defends Online Gaming: Criticisms from lawmakers notwithstanding, the industry and trade associations like the All India Gaming Federation (AIGF) and IAMAI have opined that describing online gaming as gambling would not be doing justice as they require skills like in any other sport.

Indianbroadcastingworld.com reviewed a presentation made by AIGF at APOS India in December 2021, organized by Singapore-based Media Partners Asia, which said that India was the fifth largest market for online gaming globally and offers huge opportunities in terms of investments and employment-generation.

According to AIGF, investment deals worth US$650 million-plus were inked in the last three years and the industry is a direct beneficiary of PM Narendra Modi’s ‘Digital India’ initiatives.

Pointing out that online-gaming sector among the fastest-growing sunrise segments, the industry association had said online gaming sector has been one of the few industries to beat the economic downtrend, while benefitting from smartphone penetration, affordable data and the digitization of e-commerce and payments platforms.