Kya Real Money Gaming India Mein Gambling Hai Ya Skill Ka Khel?

OutlookIndia

Ek 16 saal ke ladke ne apni maa ke account se 36 lakh kharch kiye ek mobile game par! 😱 RMG ka sach kya hai—gaming ya gambling? 🎮📉 Is industry ka future aur challenges dekho ab! Watch full story on Nazar Ya! YouTube Channel.

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00:00In Hyderabad, a 16-year-old boy lost Rs. 36 lakh from his mother's account on an online

00:19mobile game, Free Fire.

00:21He spent all the money on virtual clothes to impress his friends.

00:26These incidents are common all over the world, for example, a 13-year-old girl spent Rs. 52

00:32lakh on a mobile game in China.

00:33Today, in Undekha Nazariya, we will explore the unseen world of real money gaming, which

00:39can reach a revenue of Rs. 7.5 billion by 2028.

00:44Real money gaming is a business model where players invest real money in games and try

00:50to earn more than that.

00:52The platforms that host these games take some commission from each game.

00:57Compared to traditional gaming, which is often dependent on advertising revenue, RNG is more

01:02stable.

01:03But it is often confused with gambling.

01:06RNG supporters say that this is a game of skill, which requires strategy and skill.

01:12Like sports or work tasks, where players try to win by using their abilities.

01:18This separates RNG from pure luck-based gaming.

01:22Online gaming is a little infamous, but horse race betting is considered skill-based and

01:27reputable.

01:28According to India's amended IT rules 2021, fantasy sports like RNG have been clubbed

01:34with regular video games, which brings regulatory and reputational challenges.

01:39RNG companies often use terms like esports and video games to legitimize themselves,

01:45which influences reports and search results and keeps both in the broader gaming category.

01:51Although it is one of India's fastest-growing sectors, some states have banned real money

01:57games.

01:58In India, the legality of RNG is quite complex and different according to the state.

02:03In general, online games of chance are prohibited, whereas games of skill may be allowed.

02:10Gaming platforms like Dream11 achieved the status of a unicorn with a valuation of $1

02:15billion in 2019.

02:17In August 2023, the GST Council imposed a 28% top GST slab on clear deposits, whether

02:23the game is skill-based or chance-based.

02:26According to previous tax rates, RNG platforms had to pay 18% GST on their platform fees,

02:32which was called gross gaming revenue.

02:35With the new tax structure, the company's tax obligations have increased a lot, which

02:41has reached 350% to 400%.

02:44This financial strain has become a major reason for layoffs, and many startups have shut down

02:49this year.

02:50But this new tax regime has also boosted GST collections a lot, which has reached 6,909

02:56crores in just 6 months, which is an increase of 421%.

03:02During the pandemic, when many sectors were in a slowdown, online gaming had increased.

03:07Online gaming saw unprecedented growth when people started using it as escapism.

03:13Mobile game downloads have increased a lot in India.

03:16RNG is now 83 to 84% of Indian online gaming industry revenue.

03:20The most popular games in the lockdown were Ludo, Rummy and Poker.

03:24I also played Among Us with my friends every day.

03:32Today, there are about 100 million online gamers in the RNG space, 90% of whom pay and

03:39game on an average of 8.5 hours.

03:42These statistics show the dominance of RNG.

03:45And projections say that the overall gaming industry can grow by 20% by 2025, which will

03:52reach a revenue of 231 billion rupees.

03:55RNG's popularity is not limited to urban areas.

03:5994% Indian gamers like mobile gaming.

04:02And reports also say that 60% smartphone gamers play daily.

04:0790% real money gamers play at least once a week.

04:12And 43% real money gamers live outside the metro cities.

04:16India's gaming community is the largest in the world, which has 568 million gamers,

04:21which has downloaded 9.5 billion games in 2023.

04:26Of these, 144 million gamers are connected to real money gaming.

04:29And projections say that by 2028, the gaming community can reach up to 916 million, which

04:35will engage 240 million real money gamers.

04:38Despite this, India's gaming industry is facing some challenges.

04:43With 433 million gamers, India's average revenue per user was the lowest in the world

04:49in the fiscal year 2021.

04:51In Indonesia, where there are 120 million gamers, it was $10-20 in December.

04:57Whereas in markets like China and the US, their ARPO is between $60-70 or $200-$220.

05:05In the end, real money gaming is a rapidly growing sector in India, which brings not

05:10only economic potential, but also societal and regulatory challenges.

05:14Did you start online gaming during the pandemic?

05:17And do you still play PUBG?

05:19Let us know in the comments.

05:20Like this video and subscribe to our channel.

05:23See you in the next video.

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