Gaming Technology, Integrity and Taxation Roundtable
By Kealan Finnegan
On 24 February, the UK India Business Council (UKIBC), in collaboration with the All India Gaming Federation (AIGF), hosted an exclusive roundtable with key stakeholders discussing gaming technology, integrity and taxation.
As we’ve seen over the last three years, there has been tremendous development as far as the skills gaming sector is involved. Central Government of India ministries have been involved in consultative calls including the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry – all of which are very supportive and seek to nurture the sector moving forward. Currently, there are only two states where gaming / sports betting are regulated – Goa and Sikkim.
UKIBC members including leading technology providers to the global gaming industry, shared presentations on the gaming landscape. The organisation’s regulatory framework was explained, which included objectives, product scope, licenses, and other considerations such as aim, advertising, regulatory authority and enabling law.
The importance of advertising was highlighted here, with emphasis on the role it plays in new or unregulated markets, but it was also noted that there needs to be a balance in advertising in order to avoid backlash.
This was followed with another UKIBC member presentation that further emphasised the need to recognise there is an existing sports betting market in India – the question is how the states and authorities can benefit from this. There is a need for regulation to provide tools to an industry that can generate wealth for India and provide help for sports; for example, European regulators work with sports committees to provide tax.
When it comes to sports betting, protecting the sports’ integrity is crucial. UKIBC members apply technology to safely collect data through agreements with federations around IP and how to monetise it.
A few key themes that arose from the discussions were responsible gaming, taxation, policy, lawful advertising practices, and the UK business perspective. Many elements of responsible gaming were thoroughly investigated such as background, website messaging, informing the consumer, and monitoring through the use of AI and machine learning.
We would like to thank our participants for sharing their expertise and thoughts during this roundtable discussion. The UKIBC will continue to support the Government of India across our networks at the Central and State level, and to support our members and clients in the UK-India sports betting and gaming industry.
