Gaming policy, tax norms need more calibration: FM

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Last Updated04/05/2023

Finance Minister said that the government is deliberating on the appropriate taxation and regulatory regime for the gaming industry which “requires a lot more calibration”.
She added that foreign investments into the sector could be expected to materialise once the policy became clear.
She was speaking to the Indian diaspora in South Korea during her visit for the Asian Development Bank’s annual meeting.

It was acknowledged that India still didn’t have a coherent policy on gaming even as some States had drafted their own policies.
The Centre is looking at it through the GST Council which has had a lot of discussion, because that is going to be an indirect tax.

The country is the biggest market for fantasy sports globally, with over 13 crore users playing across over 200 platforms.
The government noted that the number of people involved in playing online rummy are on rise.
India mainly puts the games into two broad categories to differentiate them.
The two categories are that the game is either a Game of Chance or a Game of Skill.
- Game of chance (Gambling): Games of chance are all those games that are played randomly.
  - These games are based on luck.
  - A person can play these games without prior knowledge or understanding.
  - For instance, dice games, picking a number, etc.
  - Such games are considered illegal in India.
- Game of skill (Gaming): Games of skill are all those games that are played based on a person’s prior knowledge or experience of the game.
  - A person will require skills such as analytical decision-making, logical thinking, capability, etc.
  - Some games might also require some initial training to win.
  - Such games are considered legal by most of the Indian states.