By BestMediaInfo Bureau

After the GST Council came up with new recommendations for the online gaming industry in India wherein Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that 28% GST be levied on the total value of online gaming, horse racing, and casinos, online gaming platforms believe that this move is expected to create significant challenges for brands, marketers, and in-game advertising partnerships.

The implementation of the GST is projected to result in a drastic reduction in revenues, leading to lower collaboration rates and a halt in new investments for at least a year. While larger players in the industry may withstand the impact, smaller companies could face potential elimination. Ad budgets and the survival of brands and marketers are at stake due to this development, they added.

The government has also put an end to the conversations around the demand for a bifurcation between skill-based and chance-based games as it was announced that there will not be any differentiation between the two.

Meanwhile, industry experts voiced their dissatisfaction regarding the decision made by the GST Council.

Mitesh Gangar, Co-founder and Director of PlayerzPot, said that the gaming industry is almost a seven or eight-year-old industry now.

“There are many smaller ancillaries who are now dependent on this industry. Now if the users' interest is reduced, then automatically it will not only affect the industry but all the people who are dependent on this industry. So, there will be a huge impact in terms of jobs and in terms of promoting India as an online gaming hub. There would be many consequences of this,” he said.

Deepak Kumar, Managing Partner, Dentsu Gaming, said that the gaming industry is still incubating. Of course, there have been some great sparks but there are larger set players who are yet to make the mark.

"With the great expectations and the momentum that was building, the recent announcement could come as a roadblock to serious gamers for whom it was also a source of income and especially for those creators who are about to launch their creations.

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