New Delhi, Oct 5 (PTI) Online gaming platform WinZO plans to invest USD 25 million (about Rs 208 crore) in Brazil to set up its business there, the company said on Thursday.

WinZo said its decision to enter the Brazilian market is driven by a strategic approach to diversify and address challenges posed in India to all the companies by the 400 per cent hike in GST in India.

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"This move will help the platform's over 100 partner game developers export games, such as Carrom, Chess, Car Race etc., and gain free access to Brazil, the fourth-largest mobile gaming market with over 90 million users," WinZo said in a statement.

WinZO is the first gaming platform from India to enable the export of technologies and IP by over 100 Indian game developers with a foray in Brazil, it added.

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"The partner game developers will get access to the new market and users without any cost of technology, marketing, and distribution. WinZO intends to invest USD 25 million (about Rs 208 crore) to expand and build the Brazilian gaming market, which will allow further growth opportunities for the export of computing, technology, and consumer tech from India," the statement said.

The expansion comes at a pivotal moment in India's Gaming ecosystem as companies explore ways to steer through challenges posed by a 400 per cent hike in the GST, which threatens the survival of most content and IP creators in their nascent stages, it noted.

The vernacular gaming platform said that most content and IP creators in the gaming segment have the potential to catapult India into a leadership position within the global gaming arena and replace behemoths that originated in the West.

WinZo said that taxation rates globally, including countries like the US, UK, Australia, and Germany, are applied to the commissions for casual games of skill that are treated differently from Fantasy Sports.

"They levy tax rates of 6.75 per cent, 21 per cent, and 19 per cent, respectively, on commission fees. Brazil levies indirect taxes such as 2-5 per cent as municipal tax, applicable to the commission earned by the company," the statement said.

It will continue to work closely with policymakers in India to make a strong case for a globally competitive and conducive environment for the Gaming Sector to help India become a global technology and innovation leader, the company said.

"WinZO is committed to developing a Made in Bharat consumer tech product that resonates with and caters to the interactive entertainment needs of young users worldwide. We have built a tech stack that caters to over 150 million young users from Bharat today and can be scaled across the world," WinZo, Co-Founder, Paavan Nanda said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)