Page 20 - Online Gaming

Level up: India's gamers play to win with homegrown 'AAA' titles

Popular AAA games include titles like Minecraft, GTA 5, Call of Duty, and Fortnite, among others

Govt to review tax on online gaming after March: Revenue Secy Malhotra

Online gaming companies including Delta Corp. and Tiger Global-backed Dream11 have seen an increase in demands and notices from tax authorities amid a crackdown on alleged tax evasion

Monthly GST mop-up from online gaming companies jump 400% since Oct 1

Monthly GST collections from online gaming companies have jumped over 400 per cent to about Rs 1,200 crore since October 1 when the 28 per cent levy on e-gaming platforms has come into effect, a senior official said on Friday. The GST Council had in August last year clarified that online gaming companies will have to pay 28 per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST) on the full face value of bets placed on their platforms. Foreign e-gaming companies were mandated to register with the GST authorities, failing which their portals will be blocked. The amendments to GST law came into effect from October 1, 2023. "There has been a jump in GST revenues from online gaming companies post October 1. From monthly revenue of Rs 225 crore, the aggregate tax paid by the sector now stands at about Rs 1,200 crore," the official told PTI. GST officers had last year sent around 71 show cause notices to online gaming companies for alleged GST evasion of over Rs 1.12 lakh crore during financial years 2022

Budget 2024: What do the online gaming and esports industries expect?

Interim Budget 2024: Online gaming and esports industries have had an eventful 2023 owing to the GST Council's decision to impose a blanket 28% tax. Here's what the industries expect in the Budget

SC seeks govt's response on pleas by online gaming cos challenging 28% GST

The bench, led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, issued notice in pleas by online gaming companies such as Head Digital Works, Games 24/7, and Dream 11 challenging the government's decision

SC seeks Centre's reply to plea against levy of 28 % GST on online gaming

The Supreme Court on Monday sought responses from the Centre and others on a plea of the E-gaming Federation against the levy of 28 per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST) on all forms of online real-money gaming. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra took note of the submissions of senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for the federation, and Additional Solicitor General N Venkataramani before issuing notices on the plea. The Directorate General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence has also been asked to respond to the plea within two weeks. The top court took note of the submissions of both the counsel that several high courts are seized of similar petitions and are passing orders. The petitioners also include Dream 11, Games 24x7, and Head Digital Works. The GST council had, in one of its meetings in July last year, recommended that online gaming along with casinos and horse racing be taxed at a uniform rate. The GST coun

Winzo joins hands with IITs to develop model for determining games of skill

Winzo said that it started the study amid concerns about the independence of the proposed self-regulatory bodies in India's online gaming sector

Logging in: New career path as esports gain recognition in multisport event

It has been a year since esport was officially recognised as a multisport event in India. For many, it has since become a career option

Year ender 2023: 10 important regulatory changes that took place in India

2023 was a busy year for regulators like the Reserve Bank of India and the Securities and Exchange Board of India. Here are the 10 key changes on the regulatory front

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