Karnataka IT Minister Priyank Kharge has asserted that the implementation of a 28% GST on online gaming will result in a decrease in talent and capital inflows if the government does not engage in a dialogue with gaming companies to resolve the issues facing the sector.

“I have written to the finance minister. I have also written to my predecessor and requested his team to relook at their stance as a game of skill versus chance is different. We hope the central government addresses their concerns and if they’re not going to have a dialogue with the gaming industry and the players, this is going to create chaos and destroy many families,” Kharge talked at the Global Innovation Alliance about the upcoming 26th Bengaluru Tech Summit, which will be held in the city from November 29th to December 1st. He said that 16 sessions will be hosted by GIA partner countries, including Australia, France and Israel, as well as Japan, Switzerland and the Netherlands. “Players are playing games hosted on Chinese and Eastern European servers getting duped, we can’t even protect them. At least here, we can protect them,” he said.

Kharge pointed out that Bengaluru is one of the biggest tech hubs in the world and has a lot of talented people working there. “We need to be more resilient for the future and we need to ensure we are ready for the challenges for future innovations and that is exactly what GoK is doing. We have a Skill Advisory Committee for emerging technologies with industry, academia, and government. I am heading this committee personally to ensure that as a government we are listening to the industry to be future-ready,” he said.

Credit: The Times of India