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70% Respondents Believe That Banning Online Gaming Will Have Negative Impact On IT & Start-Ups Segment: Survey

A whopping 80% of respondents also strongly believe that if gaming start-ups shift out of Bengaluru to other start-up destinations in India because of lack of policy support, there will be a huge negative impact on the image of Bengaluru and Karnataka as a start-up destination.

Bangalore’ image as a startup hub will be adversely affected by the recent controversy around the ban on online gaming in Karnataka, according to a study conducted by Startup Business Academy, among the startup community in India.

Startup Business Academy, an organisation focused on enabling startup entrepreneurs to rapidly scale up, conducted a study among 650+ respondents. An overwhelming majority of the surveyed said that not only will the ban affect Bangalore’s image but it will also have a cascading effect of gaming ban on other start-up and IT segments. Around 70% of respondents believe that a ban on online gaming will have a high negative impact on other segments of the IT industry and start-ups as well, which will suffer in due course.

A whopping 80% of respondents also strongly believe that if gaming start-ups shift out of Bengaluru to other start-up destinations in India because of lack of policy support, there will be a huge negative impact on the image of Bengaluru and Karnataka as a start-up destination.

This controversial bill in Karnataka will impact all gaming formats including strategy games and esports. While the bill proposes to ban online gambling, what in effect has happened is that it has banned everything, including skill games. At present, Karnataka is home to more than 91 gaming companies and developers, which employ about 4,000 people. The Bill will have a severe impact on these companies, in the form of revenue and job loss, and stifle the growth of this sector, not to miss the cascading impact on the entire start-up ecosystem and IT sector in the region, as gaming is today the no 1 magnet for attracting global investments in India.

Not just policy, 69% respondents strongly feel that Bengaluru will eventually lose its attractiveness for start-ups because of a multitude of compounding factors such as problems of infrastructure, traffic, lack of public transport and lack of clear startup-friendly state government policy. Around 31% respondents attribute that if the trend of overregulation of high growth and investment magnets like gaming continues this will harm the state’s attractiveness. Also, 33% respondents believe that other cities like Delhi NCR, Pune, Chennai and Hyderabad will benefit with their better policies and environment to high-stake start-up entrepreneurs and investors

 Mr. Neeraj Kapoor, Founder & CEO, Startup Business Academy, said, “Karnataka, led by the city of Bengaluru has been India’s flag bearer as a global hub for IT development and start-ups on the back of a vibrant private enterprise led by young, energetic entrepreneurs. The recent developments threaten the State of Karnataka’s pole position as compared to other Indian states when it comes to its friendliness and readiness to drive the next level of growth from IT and related services.”

There is a certain section of respondents (33%) who attribute the rise of Bengaluru to the progressive policies of the Karnataka Government. Around 5% respondents believe that there is absolutely no threat to Benguluru’s position as an international start-up hub, while another 6% believe that there is an insignificant threat. 

In conclusion, to stay ahead of the curve, Karnataka must show the way by adopting progressive policies by adopting ‘Right Regulation’ and development of IT Laws which are based on science and technology. Online gaming is one of the fastest growing IT development segments in the world today, and the way things are going, there will be many Indian companies which will go on to dominate the global gaming scene if rightfully supported.

Source: Business World

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