Experts discuss how to ensure a healthy stable gaming industry in India

Gaming industry in India has been on a roll since the last few years. The pandemic period saw an accelerated adoption of gaming pan-India and across demographics. As per Statista, the gaming market in India, which stood at $0.8 billion in 2019, grew to reach $2.6 billion in 2022. At a CAGR of 27 per cent, industry reports suggest that this market is likely to be worth over $8 billion by financial year 2027.

India is the largest mobile gaming market in terms of app downloads. As per Invest India, revenue from online gaming grew 39% in 2022 to $ 1.6 billion. There are 421 million online gamers (2022) in India, ant the number is expected to reach 442 million by 2023. India has the largest fantasy sports market, with a user base of 180 million.

However, the recent decision by the Government to impose 28% GST on all online games, including skill games, has been a dampener on this burgeoning industry. Nevertheless, the industry is look at expansion as the number of gamers continues to rise.

Adgully’s latest episode of its prime property, #GullyChat, turned the spotlight on ‘Ground rules for gaming expansion in India’ amid a dynamic market. The participants in the discussion on X included:

Ashwin Haryani, Country Head - India, Ampvers

Jayendra More, AVP Product, PlayerzPot

Ravi Kiran, Founder and CEO, GoLive Games Studios

Rohit Agarwal, Founder & Director, Alpha Zegus

The #GullyChat, which was held on September 8, 2023, started with the panellists discussing on how the new gaming regulations in India address the concerns about responsible gaming.

Ashwin Haryani noted, “Restrictions to usage and the amount of money users are spending on games can ensure a healthy stable gaming industry and the regulations are here to solve that.”

Jayendra More said, “We’re committed to keeping our users informed about their spending on our RMG platform. To help users stay in control, we are introducing:

• Daily Deposit Limit: Users can set a maximum daily deposit, and they’ll receive an alert when they reach it.
• Planned Timeout: Users can take a break from RMG by pausing their participation in paid games for a set time.
• Responsible Gaming Content: We offer educational material to promote responsible gaming, helping users maintain composure and prevent addiction.”

According to Ravi Kiran, “Gaming regulations support games without any element of wagering. Recognition for games (non-rmg) and esports is a big part of the government’s outlook towards encouraging the gaming industry. High GST (28%) for wagering dissuades gamers playing for money, and instead encourages players to play for glory, fame and international recognition.”

Rohit Agarwal opined, “Game developers are being instructed to limit and monitor the amount of time spent by users on their apps, and the amount of explicit/gore content being shown to them. These are great initiatives to promote responsible gaming amongst youngsters.”

These are edited excerpts, for the complete conversation, please visit www.twitter.com/adully