Confident that GST issues will be resolved soon, says E-Gaming Federation chief

06 Dec 2023, 08:26 by Varuni Khosla · Mint Business News - Official Channel · Join

The E-Gaming Federation (EGF), a self-regulatory body for the online gaming industry, is confident that issues around the recent GST changes which increased companies’ tax burden will be resolved soon.

The federation’s CEO, Anuraag Saxena, said he was optimistic about ongoing discussions between the federation and government stakeholders looking to address these concerns. Saxena said in an interview with Mint that the industry was united in presenting a compelling business case to the government, highlighting the sector’s positive social impact.

“As far as the GST issue is concerned, we’re very optimistic that it will resolve itself in the very near future. The government will be looking to find a balance between providing a fillip to the industry and maximising its revenue. The process for the government and the industry to find some kind of a balance is ongoing," he said.

He said when new industries evolve, it takes some time for stakeholders to reach a consensus. “There has been a period of flux and we may be at the tail end of that period right now. Within a fairly short amount of time, we will be able to ensure there are regulations that encourage Indian gaming companies and curb or discourage those that may not be subject to our laws," he added.

Saxena said the gaming federation hopes the government will recognise that companies are looking to protect players and not trying to circumvent the law, unlike those in the offshore betting segment. “Companies in the skill-based gaming sector are proactively subjecting themselves to Indian norms and rules. At the same time, there are a whole bunch of companies that are not. There will always be bad players in a sector and we are confident that there is enough enforcement in India to weed out bad players from this industry," he added.

While the government has come down hard on the real-money gaming (RMG) sector, an offshore betting industry has been thriving. These companies run their businesses on remote servers, use offshore accounts which are banned by the government, and don’t pay tax even as they advertise in India.

Games of skill – which include real-money games – are regulated by the union government while games of chance are regulated by the states. But in the past two years, 71 notices have been sent to RMG companies for alleged tax evasion to the tune of ₹1.12 lakh crore.

“Our expectation of the government is to understand the sector and the intent of the sector better. For example, we are one of the very few sectors that is asking for more regulation. We are very confident that they will come up with a tax regime that is both fair and encouraging," he said.

He added that the sector is looking to be compliant with self-regulatory bodies, which will make the ecosystem safer. However, the government has deferred its plan to have self-regulatory bodies for now.

Milestone Alert!Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world 🌏 Click here to know more.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Varuni Khosla
Varuni Khosla is a journalist with close to 14 years of experience in writing business news stories for mainstream newspaper companies like Mint and The Economic Times. She reports and writes on luxury and lifestyle brands, hospitality and tourism news, the business of sports, the business of advertising and marketing and alcohol brands.
Read more from this author
Related Premium Stories

Confident that GST issues will be resolved soon, says E-Gaming Federation chief

Stormy Monday in Chennai: Why are our cities so flood-prone?

EU spirits industry seeks 50% cut in tariff in FTA with India

Dream11 parent prepares war chest as it pivots M&A strategy

How this year’s festive season sales fared: “decent; not great, but decent”

Mint Primer: Decoding the fall and rise of India’s forex reserves

Why Delhi’s air quality remains in the red despite a fall in stubble burning

Poll rout: Is this the end of Congress’ welfare politics?

French luxury body head Epinay says India, France markets similar

Why we don’t get enough piped gas for cooking

Climate change: Distressed firms to be judged on green plans