Bangalore: NS Karnataka The government will invest the corpus of its AVGC Venture Fund only in such gaming startup Official sources said on Karnataka proceeding to ban all online sports betting, which are driven by either subscription-based or advertising-based business model.

AVGC – an acronym for Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics – is an area that the IT/BT department is promoting within the startup ecosystem, given its growth potential.

Karnataka is the only state that has set up a dedicated venture fund to support AVGC startups.

An asset management company under the IT/BT department identifies promising startups in the sector and supports them using its Rs 20 crore fund raised from some government institutions. The company has shortlisted the target companies and the process of investment is on.

IT/BT Minister CN Ashwath Narayan Said that the government is committed to promote startups including innovators in the gaming industry.

“While promoting the industry, the department will follow the framework and be as per the law,” he told ET. There are around 91 startups in Karnataka that are in the gaming sector.

Official sources said the government would not support gaming companies – including those running skill-based games – if their games lack transparency or are found to be hiding something from players or if their games are in a gray area. come.

“We will examine their business model before taking the investment call,” an official said on condition of anonymity. “Only gaming apps that help players improve their gaming skills will get our support,” he said.

The government supports AVGC startups with a maximum funding of Rs 2 crore.

Another important requirement is that the startup must have its gaming app available on the Android or iOS Play Store.

The Karnataka Assembly has passed a bill amending the Police Act, 1963, which seeks to ban online games that are “games of chance” in nature. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, however, has already clarified that the new law does not prohibit online games which are pure “games of skill” where the player does not risk losing his money.