Page 20 - Online Gaming

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

FIFS asks govt to not impose GST on online gaming with retrospective effect

The Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS) on Wednesday urged the government not to impose a 28 per cent GST on online gaming with retrospective effect, as it is discouraging investors to put in their money into this booming industry. The GST Council in its meeting in August held that online gaming would attract 28 per cent GST on the face value of bets at entry level. Pursuant to the decision, the GST authorities have sent notices to several online gaming companies for recovery of taxes. Speaking at the 'TIOL Tax Congresss 2023', Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS) director general Joy Bhattarcharjee said the issue of GST rate is more or less settled and the only issue that the industry have is retrospective provision of the law because it is discouraging investors to put in their money into this booming industry," he said. "However, retrospectivity of GST provisions is a very difficult blow for us. "Having 'contingent liability' will spook away the investors whom we ne

Samsung may announce cloud gaming service exclusively for Galaxy devices

It is reported that the Galaxy devices owners would be able to access and play selected games from Samsung Galaxy app store or Game launcher directly on their devices

Elon Musk streams himself playing 'Diablo IV' to test X capacity

The broadcast on X, formerly Twitter, lasted 52 minutes, of which the first dozen were spent setting up the stream correctly, with a staffer helping Musk

As new 28% GST on online gaming takes off, gamers brace for impact

Rishi Raj, a Gurgaon-based avid player of online poker, believes that the government has been successful where most of his family failed - getting him to quit the real money game

Gaming cos to collect 28% on full bet value, foreign firms to have GST no

From October 1, online gaming companies will charge 28 per cent GST on full value of bets, while offshore platforms too would be required to have GST registration to operate in India. The finance ministry late on Friday notified October 1 as the appointed date for the amended provisions in Central GST and Integrated GST laws to come into effect. E-gaming companies, however, flagged that since many states are yet to pass amendments in their respective State GST (SGST) laws, this notification by the union government in CGST and IGST laws will create confusion. According to the changes to the Central GST Act, online gaming, casinos and horse racing will henceforth be treated as "actionable claims" similar to lottery, betting and gambling and subject to 28 per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST) on full face value of bets. The amendments to Integrated GST (IGST) Act makes it mandatory for offshore online gaming platforms to take registration in India and pay 28 per cent tax in accordance