Online gaming unicorn Games24×7’s revenue is back to where it was before the introduction of 28% goods and services tax (GST) in 2023, according to Bhavin Pandya, co-founder and co-CEO of the company.
Talking to FE on the sidelines of Startup Mahakumbh on Thursday, Pandya said that the duty had pushed the company behind by 12-24 months.
“The idea is to grow from here,” he said, adding that the growth rate would be lesser than earlier but the growth is likely to be robust in the next 3-5 years.
The government had hiked the GST rate on online gaming and casinos from 18% to 28% in August 2023. Online gaming companies had protested against the move.
The revised duty came into effect on October 1, 2023. Recently, CBIC chairman Sanjay Kumar Agarwal said that the GST collections from online gaming have nearly quadrupled, with an average of Rs 1,200 crore collected monthly.
In FY23, the company’s revenue from operations rose 70% to Rs 1,988 crore from Rs 1,169 crore in FY22. Its losses fell by around 30% to around Rs 199 crore.
Pandya said that now they are comfortable on the liquidity front and not looking to raise funds anytime soon.
According to him, the country’s gaming sector is currently at a point where manufacturing was 200-300 years ago.
“Gaming has been here for maybe 20 years now and there’s a long way to go,” he said. “But the future is bright.”
The company is also betting big on artificial intelligence to solve infrastructure and data problems.
Last week, Games24×7 hosted the pitch week for their accelerator programme TechXpedite. Pandya said that out of the startups that were selected, 60% had showcased the use of AI in some form or other.
“AI will not replace people. It will replace people who do not know AI,” he said.
Pandya also said that there have been talks of consolidation in the industry, given the rough funding environment.