Page 20 - Online Gaming

Online platforms may need to delete data of users inactive for 3yrs

New Digital Personal Data Protection Rules proposed by the government may require online platforms, including e-commerce, gaming, and social media, to permanently delete data of inactive users

China OKs 105 online games in gesture of support after curbs trigger losses

China's press and publications authority has approved 105 new online games, saying it fully supports the industry after proposed curbs caused massive losses last week for investors in major games makers. The National Press and Publication Administration issued a statement on its WeChat social media account Monday saying the approvals by the Game Working Committee of China Music and Digital Association were positive signals that support the prosperity and healthy development of the online game industry. Tencent's Counter War: Future and NetEase's Firefly Assault were among games approved. Draft guidelines for curbs on online gaming had caused share prices of video game makers like Tencent and Netease to plunge on Friday, causing losses of tens of billions of dollars and dragging Chinese benchmarks lower. The administration's guidelines said online games would be banned from offering incentives for daily log-ins or purchases. Other restrictions include limiting how much users can ...

Chinese govt drafts new rules proposing restrictions on online gaming

China released draft guidelines on Friday aimed at curbing excessive spending on online gaming in the latest move by the ruling Communist Party to keep control of the virtual economy. The proposal caused shares in the biggest Chinese gaming companies, Tencent and NetEase, to plunge in Hong Kong. China's gaming regulator, the National Press and Publication Administration, issued guidelines saying online games cannot offer incentives for daily log-ins or purchases. Other restrictions include limiting how much users can recharge and issuing warnings for irrational consumption behaviour. Shares in Tencent, China's largest gaming company, dived about 16 per cent before recovering some ground to close 12 per cent lower. Rival NetEase's stock price lost about 25 per cent. Beijing has taken various measures against the online games sector in recent years. In 2021, regulators set strict restrictions on the amount of time children could spend on games to just three hours a week. A state med

Valuation rules for GST on e-gaming platforms effective prospectively: FM

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said the valuation rules for levying 28 per cent GST on entry-level bets on online gaming platforms are effective prospectively. "The clarification on that (online gaming) was issued. 28 per cent is the tax and as to who it will apply to and on whom the incidence will fall is clearly explained... The valuation rules to exclude winnings is prospective. So, I hope there is not confusion on that," Sitharaman said in the Lok Sabha. The minister was replying to a discussion in the House on the GST (Second Amendment) Bill, which provides for capping the age limit for president and members of GSTAT. This implies that bets placed from the winning amount on online gaming portals will not attract 28 per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST) with effect from October 1. In its meeting in August, the GST Council had clarified that 28 per cent GST is applicable on online gaming. Thereafter, amendments to Central GST Act were cleared by Parliament in Au

Microsoft Xbox Cloud Gaming service to get ad-supported free plan: Report

Microsoft is expected to only include select gaming title for its ad-supporting tier of Xbox Cloud Gaming service, according to a media report

West Bengal clears bill to impose 28% GST on online gaming, horse racing

The West Bengal assembly on Thursday passed a bill by virtue of which online gaming, horse racing and casinos will be taxed at the highest GST rate of 28 per cent on full face value of the bets involved. Minister of State for Finance Chandrima Bhattacharya said when the West Bengal Goods and Services Tax (Second Amendment) Bill, 2023, will become an Act, it will augment the revenue of the state. West Bengal is one of the states which has advocated taxation of such online gaming and similar activities at the highest rate, she said. Bhattacharya said activities like online gaming, casinos and horse racing are all games of chance and not those of skill, and in these cases, the right to participate and the right to win cannot be separated. The minister, who is a member of the GST Council, said West Bengal has been in favour of taxing such activities at the highest rates. She also alleged that there had been a delay in tabling this Bill in the assembly as the governor was seeking numer

MPL's revenue surges 63% to $104.6 mn in FY23; losses narrowed by over 70%

The gaming unicorn has derived 38% of this revenue from its operations in international markets up from 11 per cent in FY22

71 show cause notices issued to online gaming firms involving GST: FinMin

As many as 71 show cause notices have been issued to online gaming companies for alleged GST evasion of over Rs 1.12 lakh crore during financial years 2022-23 and 2023-24, the finance ministry said on Tuesday. The total Goods and Services Tax (GST) evasion detected by central GST officers in the current fiscal (till October, 2023) was Rs 1.51 lakh crore, while 154 persons have been arrested. A recovery of Rs 18,541 crore was made so far this fiscal. Giving details of detection of GST evasion, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said in 2022-23 fiscal, evasion to the tune of over Rs 1.31 lakh crore was detected and 190 persons were arrested. A total of Rs 33,226 crore was recovered during the fiscal. In 2021-22, 2020-21 and 2019-20, GST evasion stood at Rs 73,238 crore, Rs 49,384 crore and Rs 40,853 crore, respectively. To a question in the Rajya Sabha on the amount of tax evasion and number of show cause notices issued to online gaming companies, Chaudhary said: "71 show

E-gaming to be among 3 fastest growing sectors after regulations: EGF CEO

Anuraag Saxena said that the industry is in a 'wait and watch' mode, and the true impact of the GST move will only be known after the period of review is over

YouTube rolls out Playables for Premium users with support for 30+ games

YouTube has not yet confirmed if the platform will be available for free users as well after its testing phase is over

Over 50% Indian gamers see a career in gaming, shows HP India study

The company has introduced the HP Gaming Garage, a free-of-cost online professional certificate program on Esports management and Game development

Tax conundrum in online gaming landscape: All eyes on the apex court

Impending verdict on Gameskraft v/s DGGI case could reshape India's online gaming tax landscape, writes Dhanendra Kumar, IAS (Retd.)

IT rules ensure safeguards for children against online gaming harms: Meity

Meity's reply stated that an Inter-Ministerial Task Force for Online Gaming Regulation (IMTF) was constituted by the Respondent/MeitY in May 2022

Bihar tables bill in assembly to replace ordinance on 28% GST on e-gaming

The Bihar government on Monday tabled an amendment bill in the assembly to replace an ordinance to facilitate the imposition of 28 per cent GST on online gaming in the state. The additional tax on online gaming, racecourses and casinos has been in force in the state since October 1, following the Centre's notification in this regard in September. State Finance Minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary tabled the Bihar Goods and Services Tax (Second Amendment) Bill-2023 on Monday, the first day of the winter session of the state legislature. The Union Ministry of Finance issued notifications for implementing 28 per cent uniform GST on online money games, casinos, horse racing, betting, gambling and lottery in September. The new tax regime has been in force in the state since October 1. Now the promulgated ordinance will be replaced by the amendment bill," Choudhary told PTI. The state would certainly get additional revenue following the imposition of the higher tax rate, he said. The Goods an

India among top 5 markets, gamers more willing to pay: Krafton India CEO

India is among the top five markets for PUBG and Battlegrounds Mobile India maker Krafton, even though the country has less than 10 per cent of its total user-base paying for games, company's India business head Sean Hyunil Sohn said. Krafton India CEO Sohn told PTI that India is among the top three markets for the company in terms of user base and the willingness to pay among the gamers is rising. "India is a long-term play for us. The market goes at least 10 or 15 per cent per year. We want to maintain our position and grow with the market. India is among the top five markets for us and in terms of user base it is within the top three," Sohn said. Currently, the company runs Battleground Mobile India (BGMI) shooting game in India, similar to PUBG which was banned by the government in September 2020. The government had ordered to block BGMI but allowed it to re-launch the game in May. Sohn said that Krafton's paid user-base and average revenue per user in India is comparatively l

Online gaming companies get Rs 1 trn GST show cause notices so far

GST authorities have issued show cause notices worth Rs 1 lakh crore to online gaming companies for tax evasion so far, a senior official said on Wednesday. The official, however, said that there is no data yet of foreign gaming companies registering in India since October 1. The government has amended the GST law, making it mandatory for overseas online gaming companies to register in India from October 1. The GST Council had in August clarified that 28 per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST) would be levied on full value of bets placed on online gaming platforms. "Online gaming companies served notices worth about Rs 1 lakh crore by GST authorities so far," the official said. A host of online gaming, like Dream11, and casino operator, like Delta Corp, have received GST show cause notices last month for alleged short payment of taxes. Separately, a show cause notice was sent to GamesKraft in September last year for alleged GST evasion of Rs 21,000 crore. While the Karnataka High

Pune cop wins Rs 1.5 crore in online gaming, but ends up getting suspended

Inquiries revealed that Jhende had played the online game without permission and had reportedly given media interviews wearing his police uniform

AI, online gaming can add up to $300 bn to GDP by 2026-27: IT minister

Artificial Intelligence and online gaming segments can add up to USD 300 billion dollars to India's gross domestic product (GDP) by 2026-27, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said here on Thursday. The Minister of State for Information and Technology said the government will host a global summit titled 'India AI -2023' on December 10 this year in a major push to artificial intelligence. "We see emerging technologies like AI (artificial intelligence) as being kinetic enablers of the digital economy, considering that the AI segment and online gaming segments can add almost USD 200-300 billion to the digital economy component of the GDP," Chandrasekhar said. "Our target is USD 1 trillion in the digital economy, part of the USD 5 trillion dollar GDP by 2026-27, which would be 20 per cent of the GDP. We think that AI will be a very significant component of that, which is why Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched the 'India AI' programme," he told reporters on the sidelines of a ...

I-T dept collects over Rs 700 crore in TDS from online gaming, crypto trade

The government has collected more than Rs 700 crore in taxes till now this fiscal after a new TDS regime was brought in for online gaming and trade in cryptocurrency, CBDT Chairperson Nitin Gupta said on Friday. About Rs 600 crore in taxes (under the tax deduction at source head) has been collected during the current financial year after the new online gaming regime kicked in, while around Rs 105 crore through TDS has been mopped up during 2023-24 fiscal after the taxation of crypto currency regime kicked in April 1 last year, he told reporters here. The Finance Act 2023 inserted a new section 194BA in the Income-Tax Act, 1961, with effect from April 1, 2023, which mandates online gaming platforms to deduct income-tax (TDS) on the net winnings in the person's user account. Tax is required to be deducted at the time of withdrawal as well as at the end of the financial year. Similarly, from April 1, 2022, income from transfer of virtual digital assets or cryptocurrencies is taxable a

Online gaming, casinos liable to 28% GST since beginning: Revenue Secy

As states like Delhi and Goa raised the issue of tax demand on online gaming companies and casinos retrospectively, Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra on Saturday reiterated that 28 per cent GST was levied on online gaming and casinos even before. "Certain members had raised the issue of retrospective taxation. It was informed to them that this is not retrospective, and this was the law earlier. These liabilities already existed because money online games played with bets...They were already attracting (28 per cent GST) by way of betting or gambling," Malhotra told reporters. In the 52nd GST council meeting, Delhi and Goa raised the issue of tax demands on e-gaming companies and casinos. Delhi Finance Minister Atishi said tax notices for the past 6 years calculated at a much higher rate of 28 per cent are being sent to online gaming cos, even though on October 1, this 28 per cent GST was to be implemented. "An industry whose revenue is Rs 23,000 crore, you are slapping a tax notice