Deputy Gorelkin: Many proposals have been received for revising the gaming bill, and some deserve attention
Anton Gorelkin is a State Duma deputy and one of the authors of the bill "On the Development and Distribution of Video Games in the Russian Federation." He shared his thoughts on the proposed amendments in his Telegram channel.
Anton Gorelkin. Source: State Duma Archives
According to Gorelkin, he received “quite a lot” of letters with suggestions on what should be changed in the bill. These were sent by representatives from both the gaming industry and gamers themselves. It is worth noting that among others, recommendations were sent to the State Duma by associations like RVI, APRIORI, AII, as well as companies like Buka, MTS, and others.
Gorelkin stated that he has carefully examined the amendments and plans to discuss them with the working group on the bill.
Among the particularly interesting amendments, Gorelkin highlighted two:
- A proposal to make the clause on the authorization of Russian gamers in games mandatory only for Russian platforms. As the deputy pointed out, this amendment would “end the discussion about the possible blocking of Steam and others like it” in Russia;
- A proposal to create more benefits for Russian gaming companies, including exempting them from certain taxes.
In conclusion, Gorelkin mentioned that at the end of the month, there will be an extended meeting of the working group on the bill, where representatives of gaming companies can participate.
It is still unknown when the bill will reach its first full reading in the State Duma. If it is not rejected, it will then need to pass two more readings and be reviewed by the Federation Council before receiving the signature of the President of the Russian Federation.