India, Jan. 31 -- Mounting regulations and rising tax loads have been weighing heavy on online gaming, particularly in the real-money gaming (RMG) space. The industry, however, stayed in the game with hopes of a relief running high in the run-up to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's Union Budget speech tomorrow (1 February).

After the Union Budget 2023-24 fell short of expectations with no specific mention of online gaming or policies aimed at addressing its concerns, the industry hopes that the FM will this year help it secure regulatory clarity and move along the growth path.

Despite the industry's anticipation, the promised "review" of a hike in the GST rate on services from 18% to 28% on deposits remained unfulfilled. This uncert...