It is estimated that Ghana loses over GH¢300 million annually in revenue due to leakages in the gaming sector. This was revealed in the 2021 Budget Statement and Economic Policy presented to Parliament on Friday, March 12, 2021. Gaming has become a major income earner all across the globe and a significant source of government’s revenue. As such, the government has identified gaming as one of the main sources of revenue mobilization for the country.

Gaming Policy

The government wants to formulate a comprehensive policy to improve revenue mobilization from this source. Therefore, the government will commence consultations with various stakeholders to fast-track the formulation of this policy. The Finance Ministry noted that the influx of online betting and automation of the once manual process has changed the character of revenue sources from that industry.

Also, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry for Interior will co-supervise the gaming industry. The aim is to regulate the industry to improve revenue mobilization in the country.

Moreover, the government expects to raise GH¢72,452 million as Total Revenue and Grants for 2021. Aside from personal and corporate income taxes, the government seeks to explore other revenue avenues. It has outlined several measures to improve its revenue collection in the 2021 fiscal year. Some of the new areas to explore may include the gaming sector.

Global Gaming statistics

The gaming industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the world. It is one of the industries that generates huge revenues for some countries. Mordor Intelligence forecast the global gaming market to be worth $256.97 billion by 2025. In 2019, the gaming industry was worth around $151.55 billion. Gaming industry stats show that the industry is forecast to grow at a rate of 9.17% from 2020 to 2025.

Moreover, the Game Industry report shows that the gaming industry generated almost $135 billion in 2018. Meanwhile, the VentureBeat noted that the gaming industry made $116 billion in 2017. This was an estimated 10.7% growth from 2016. Mobile gaming revenues grew the most, with $50.4 billion. Esports have also made their mark in the video game market, and their revenue was projected at $2.5 billion in 2020. Console gaming revenue reached $33.3 billion and is followed by PC gaming, with $32.3 billion for 2017.

Video Games

A new report from Juniper Research revealed that the video games industry’s value will exceed $200 billion in 2023. This is nearly a third larger than its expected $155 billion worth in 2020. Mobile and cloud gaming will lead this growth, with those much-maligned micro transactions being at the heart of turnover.

Also, reports show that the video game industry revenue was $78.61 billion in 2017. Juniper Research expects the video game industry revenue to grow at a rate of 2.29% annually from 2020 to 2024. This will result in an expected market volume of $100.56 billion by 2024.

VentureBeat estimates show that the Video game profits are expected to reach $180.1 billion in 2021. According to gaming industry stats, the Asia-Pacific gaming revenue is estimated to amount to over $174 billion by 2021. The Asian game market alone generated about $72.2 billion in 2019. This is twice that of the North American gaming market. Gaming sector Gaming sector

Global Online Gambling Market

Adroit Market Research estimated the global online gambling market size to reach up to USD 80.65 billion by 2025. The rising internet penetration and growing adoption for smartphones and tablets amongst generation X and millennials will drive this growth. Moreover, online gaming platforms offers various forms of online gambling games such as online poker, sports betting, online bingo, online lottery and casino game. These games have brought huge switch from traditional to online gambling platform.

When properly regulated, the sector holds huge prospects as an additional source of revenues to the country. This will further cushion government’s effort to widen its tax base. It will also reduce the burden on individuals and corporate entities who have to pay taxes with higher rates.