Gameskraft, Spartan Poker Among Gaming Firms Omitted from IAMAI-Chandrasekhar Meet

Update | 5:50 PM, December 5

Hours after the publishing of this story, the IAMAI in a statement said that it retracted some of the invitations due to ‘miscommunication’ from its side and there was no such directive from the office of minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

“This was an error on IAMAI’s part, and we would like to categorically clarify that it was a case of clear miscommunication from IAMAI and there was no instruction whatsoever, from the office of the Hon’ble Minister,” the industry body said.

The IAMAI said that the roundtable was exclusively for founders, and the invitations inadvertently extended to non-founders were later withdrawn.

Original Copy | 11:13 AM, December 5

The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) has reportedly retracted its invitation to some gaming firms, including Gameskraft and Spartan Poker, for a closed-door meeting with the Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

The withdrawal comes in response to feedback from the minister’s office, IAMAI told the gaming companies.

The IAMAI is set to host the India Gaming Convention in Delhi on Tuesday (December 5), featuring a closed-door roundtable discussion with Chandrasekhar. Alongside the main event, these private discussions are anticipated to focus on “building certainty for online gaming.”

The development was first reported by ET.

Gaming majors such as Dream11, Mobile Premier League (MPL), Games 24×7 and Zupee are expected to participate in the closed-door roundtable discussion. While IAMAI is organising the main event, the Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS) and E-Gaming Federation (EGF), representing gaming industry associations, are also sponsors of the event.

Dream 11 chief executive Harsh Jain, who chairs the decision-making panel at IAMAI’s executive council, also holds an important position in the industry body’s governance structure.

The upcoming India Gaming Convention in Delhi marks the initial significant public assembly of online gaming firms since the implementation of the new Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime in October.

Under the new regulations, a uniform 28% tax will be applied on the full value of bets placed in online games, regardless of whether it involves games of skill or chance.

For instance, if a player wagers INR 100, the new tax regime will levy a GST of INR 28 on that amount. In contrast, under the previous tax system, only an 18% GST was applicable and that too on the platform fee charged for games of skill.

Amid the ongoing GST troubles in the real money gaming segment, online gaming companies have been sent show-cause notices for alleged tax evasion to the tune of INR 1 Lakh Cr.

The Directorate General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence (DGGI), Mumbai Zone, served a notice of INR 28,000 Cr to gaming giant Dream11. Preceding this, the parent entity of Games24x7 received a notice amounting to INR 21,000 Cr from tax authorities.

Gaming-focused venture capital firm Lumikai has revised the revenue projections for the Indian gaming industry in its recent report from $8.6 Bn to $7.5 Bn due to recent tax changes in the sector.