Nesta calls for Lottery money to be channelled into the games industry

The UK games industry is as deserving of Lottery Good Causes funding as film, Nesta has argued in a response to the Chancellor’s budget. Stating that “games are a creative medium with the same expressive potential and cultural relevance as film” and citing academic research that has found a link between playing games and engaging in other forms of cultural activity, Nesta is calling on the Government to appoint a Lottery distributor for the sector.

This is one of three published recommendations for increasing investment in the sector. The other two are lowering barriers to accessing finance; and adapting R&D Tax Credits, which currently exclude creative industries for which the R&D process doesn’t “involve people in white coats working in labs”.

Next year the DCMS will be including gaming habits in its ‘Taking Part’ survey, and Nesta will use the statistics to paint a clearer picture of how gaming habits correlate with other cultural participation in England.