Ban leaves online gaming employees in lurch

Resumes of employees working with gaming firms have flooded the job market after a sudden ban on online money games have left scores of salaried people stranded with uncertainty.

After Parliament cleared the Online Gaming Bill last week, companies having real money gaming (RMG) businesses such as Dream11, Zupee and Gameskraft wound down RMG ops, taking a hit on their revenues.

There haven’t been wide-spread layoffs in the sector yet; firms are trying to pivot their models, diversify and expand to big overseas gaming markets, but the ban has impacted employee sentiment. The risks attached to the long-term viability of their current jobs have nudged them to seek more stable shores.

“Cash-rich companies can easily pivot but the process takes time. There’s a sense of uncertainty among employees,” said Neelabh Shukla, chief business officer at Careernet. Gaming associations have pegged the number of direct and indirect jobs generated by the online skill gaming sector at over 2 lakh.

Staffing firms estimate the count of direct jobs to be lower, at a few thousands.

The challenge would be for people in non-tech and non-engineering roles, given that the broader job market for such roles is not very robust. For employees in tech domains, it’s not much of a problem considering the high demand for tech-based jobs. Besides, as RMG companies pivot and test new models and businesses, tech talent would be required to build the structures. “We see more people reaching out from non-tech and non-engineering domains because nontech skills are not very fungible. In gaming, digital content and digital marketing are two big non-tech departments. For people working in these roles, it will be difficult to find next level avenues. They also may not find many jobs internally,” said Shukla. Developers and specialists with niche skills will continue to command competitive salaries because their expertise is in demand.

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