INDIAN GAMING
Reports: GST authorities to issue show-cause notices to 40 online gaming fi rms for tax evasion
After the Supreme Court stayed the Karnataka High Court’s judgement in the Gameskraft case, which involved the quashing of Rs 21,000 crore GST evasion show-cause notice, other online gaming companies are now under a similar threat. According to two senior government offi cials
who talked to Moneycontrol, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) authorities are set to hand out notices to 40 online gaming companies, similar in nature to what Gameskraft was served. The Gameskraft notice was the biggest one ever handed out to any fi rm. While the other 40 may not get a claim that high, it still poses a problem for the industry as it believes it is offering games of skill on the platforms. “We should see a horde of show-cause notices.
other notices on hold. As per reports, at least 35 show-cause notices are yet to be served to online gaming fi rms. As of now, only three companies have received
The GST authorities were trying to send the notices to other online gaming companies but the Karnataka High Court order came in. But now the notices will be issued on the same principle,” one of the offi cials said. Ever since the Karnataka High Court quashed the
notice served to Gameskraft, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC) decided to put all the
Tamil Nadu: Online gaming fi rms, State submit fi nal arguments; judgment soon
The ongoing battle between Tamil Nadu Govt and online gaming fi rms nears its end as both parties have fi nalized their submissions in the Madras High Court. The issue was ongoing since April when online gaming fi rms started fi ling petitions against the state government. Court noted the submission of Learned Advocate
General that state government has fi led its written submissions. It also noted that all other parties have also already fi led their written submissions. Oral arguments were already concluded on the last date, as per News18 Tamil. During the most recent hearing, the judge
adjourned the court after the state and the online gaming companies submitted their fi nal arguments. Since, the hearings have been concluded, fi nal
Gameskraft to shut down Gamezy Fantasy from September 18
Amidst the ongoing battle with the GST authorities and the increased GST rate of 28% on online real money games, the Bengaluru-based online gaming platform Gameskraft has announced the shutdown of its fantasy offering, Gamezy Fantasy. “Gamezy Fantasy will not be available from 18th
September onwards,” the offi cial announcement on the app reads. This comes as part of the company’s restructuring of its online gaming app. Gameskraft has directed users to shift to a
separate app for its other offerings including rummy and ludo. The Gamezy super app will be temporarily disabled. As per the statement given to Inc42, a
28 OCTOBER 2023
verdict is now expected within a couple of months. All India Gaming Federation (AIGF), in April, announced their intention of taking legal actions against the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Gambling and Regulation of Online Games Bill and did so in the same month. AIGF on behalf of its members that were
restricted to operate in Tamil Nadu claimed that banning skill games like poker and rummy was inappropriate. Notably, as per Supreme Court and other previous judgements, games of skill are legitimate activities. The matter stretched until recently and was also
joined by Junglee Rummy, A23 and Games24x7 with same issues as AIGF. The companies claimed that the state needs to justify the ban on skill
spokesperson for the company revealed that the decisions were made after assessing the ongoing trends and conducting internal research. They found that the best way for immersive gameplay is to provide deep category specifi c experiences, hence came the decision to temporarily deprioritise the Gamezy super app. “We are focussing our efforts on the development
and promotion of dedicated single apps, like our newly launched RummyPrime, LudoCulture and other initiatives. This focus allows us to concentrate on our core competencies and channel greater resources towards delivering unparalleled user experiences,” the spokesperson further added. In order to clear the air regarding the changes,
Gameskraft has clarifi ed that the decision is not related to the changes in the GST policy and there will not be any impact on its workforce planning and talent deployment.
Founded by industry veterans, G2G News is an independent news portal covering all developments relating to online gaming,
poker, gambling, casino, cricket betting and esports in India and the Indian subcontinent.
www.g2g.news
games and that the state has no authority to do so. Tamil Nadu government contested that they had
full authority for the decision, and it was taken after keeping the well-being of people in mind. Prior to the law banning online gaming in the state, several suicide cases were reported due to losing money on these online games. The decision to ban online gaming in the state
was taken after proper deliberation and its legislation was formed by retired Justice K Chandru- led committee.
show-cause notices, fi rst being Gameskraft while the other two have been served notices amounting to Rs 3,000 crore. One of the senior government offi cials reiterated that the notices will surely be issued to other online gaming fi rms. In the meantime, the investigation is still underway against other companies. Group General Counsel at Gameskraft, Joyjyoti
Misra, however, believes that they will again prevail as the nature of games provided by Gameskraft is completely legal and operated as per the rules issued by the government.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76
