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The Game Tax That Never Was

Name: The Game Tax That Never Was - The Esports Advocate
Uploaded: 2023-07-17T09:21:20-04:00
Channel: James Fudge
Description: I got it wrong. That is the best way to describe what happened this week when I reported that the India’s GST Council was proposing a hefty tax on

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James Fudge

10 months ago

GST Council India Plans Major Tax on Gaming

I got it wrong. That is the best way to describe what happened this week when I reported that the India’s GST Council was proposing a hefty tax on games/online games. The 28% tax would be aimed at casino, horse racing and online gaming—in short, it would be aimed at online gaming that involves real-world money wagering, and not “online gaming” as we might refer to it.

But it’s fairly easy to believe that the government would levy such as tax on “gaming” as we know it because it has really struggled in figuring out the difference between “gaming,” or gambling/betting/wagering apps (fantasy or otherwise), and our kind of gaming—video games that require skill to play. So when the government says “online gaming” that gives us pause. In this particular case I’m happy to be wrong, because such a massive tax on top of what developers already have to pay for a mobile app to platform owners, for example, would decimate the growth of the gaming industry in the country. – James Fudge.

The Eleventh Hour: FTC Appeal of Activision Blizzard – Microsoft Deal Rejected

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) appeal of a lower court ruling that rejected its efforts to obtain a preliminary injunction of Microsoft’s proposed $69B USD of Activision Blizzard. It was an eleventh hour appeal on Friday as the clock ran out on a temporary restraining order provided by the courts earlier in the year. With a preliminary injunction now fully rejected, Microsoft has cleared one of the biggest hurdles in finally consummating the deal – which has a deadline of July 18. If it goes beyond that date and the deal dies on the vine, Microsoft would have to pay Activision Blizzard $3B.

The biggest hurdle for Microsoft at this point is approval in other regions such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK. Microsoft is already reportedly working with the Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) behind the scenes in some capacity to resolve issues with the UK regulator, but some have speculated that it might push the deal out for another month. New Zealand is expected to offer some sort of guidance or ruling on Monday…

100 Thieves Lost $2.5M USD on Call of Duty League

In a recent episode of the Nadeshot Knows podcast, 100 Thieves Chief Operating Officer John Robinson admitted that the organization lost $2.5M USD on its Call of Duty League efforts, despite winning the 2022 World Championship and a Major.

“I’ll put it out there: We lost $2.5 million on our Call of Duty program last year when we were the world champions,” Robinson said during the show.

The episode featured Robinson, 100T founder and CEO (and host) Matthew “Nadeshot” Haag, 100T Senior Vice President of Esports Jacob Toft-Anderson, and Haag personal assistant Joe Kalas.

The reason for mentioning this loss is pretty straight forward: 100 Thieves is asking all of its business units to hit at least break-even milestones in 2024. The organization currently operates its professional esports efforts, its Juvee brand of energy drinks, peripherals division Higround, content creation efforts, a line of apparel, and game development efforts including work on content for Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN), and its full-fledged game development project Project X being built using Unreal Engine 5.

Biden Administration Reveals New Student Loan Debt Forgiveness Initiative

On Friday, the Biden Administration announced a new plan to forgive roughly $39B USD in student loan debt for those borrowers who have been making payments for 20 – 25 years. The new initiative led by the Department of Education will affect approximately 804,000 borrowers in the U.S. The administration will notify borrowers who are eligible starting next week, according to a CNBC report.

The new initiative follows the Supreme Court’s ruling that struck down President Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan at the end of June. That plan would have provided a small measure of relief to 37M people and complete debt forgiveness of predatory student loans to 14M people in the United States.

Survey Says: Fans Ready to Adopt Counter-Strike 2

The results of a recent survey of 5,000 people showed that fans are ready for Counter-Strike 2 (CS2). ESL FACEIT Group surveyed 5,000 gamers to find their preferences and opinions on CS2 and CS:GO and approximately 97% of gamers said that they were ready for CS2.

EFG asked gamers if they were “excited” about switching from CS:GO to CS2 when it is released later this year. Approximately 67% said they were “extremely excited” to switch, and around 21% said they were “very excited” for the change, while 9% said they were “somewhat excited.” Only 2% said they were “not so excited,” while 1% responded that they were not “not excited at all.”

EFG did provide details on how or where this survey was conducted, what countries these respondents were in, or other important data points.

Overall, the survey shows that people will be excited to play the game when it fully releases later this year. The next round of professional and officially sanctioned Counter-Strike competitions will solely focus on CS2, but for those that hate change, there’s no doubt that legacy CS:GO tournaments will continue in regions throughout the world to cater to the audience that isn’t quite ready to throw in the towel on that classic and popular game…

So Long, Major Nelson

Long-time Microsoft executive Larry Hyrb (better known as Major Nelson) announced this week that he is leaving behind the Xbox brand and Microsoft after more than 20 years at the company. Considered the face and voice of Xbox, Hyrb joined the Microsoft family in January 2001 as the editor-in-chief of MSN Music. But his real calling was realized in January 2003 when he joined Microsoft’s Xbox team as senior project manager. The rest, as they say, is history. Including his stint at MSN, Hyrb has worked for Microsoft for more than 22 years.

“After 20 incredible years, I will be leaving Xbox,” Hyrb wrote in a social media post. “As I step back and work on the next chapter of my career, I want to thank the millions of gamers around the world who have included me as part of their lives.

“Thanks to Xbox team members for trusting me to have a direct dialogue with our customers. The future is bright for Xbox and as a gamer, I am excited to see the evolution. In the meantime, I am going to soak up the glorious Seattle Summer with my family while I think about what is next. “

In Other News

👊 Crunchyroll partners with EVO for EVO 2023 Event.

💰 Sentinels launch reservations for public equity crowdfunding.

🏀 ESL FACEIT Group, FIBA detail eFIBA Season 2.

👕 G2 Esports drops Ralph Lauren apparel capsule.

🤝 RTE merger with Galaxy Racer moves forward, completion date pushed to August.

👋 Astralis sets a meeting to vote on delisting from NASDAQ.

➕ FaZe Holdings shareholders approve reverse stock split.

🥛 GameSquare and Dairy Max expand partnership.

💻 Global Esports partners with Intel India.

👛 Veloce Media Group gets investment in its crypto.

Editor’s note: This article first appeared in our weekly newsletter on July 16. You can sign up for our weekly newsletter and irregular news blasts by visiting this link.

James Fudge

With a career spanning over two decades in the esports and gaming journalism landscape, James Fudge stands as a seasoned veteran and a pivotal figure in the evolution of esports media. His journey began in 1997 at Game-Wire / Avault, where he curated gaming and community news, laying the groundwork for his expertise in the field. In his more recent roles, James cemented his status as an authority in the esports business sphere as Senior Editor Esports at Sports Business Journal and The Esports Observer between 2018 and 2021.