Online gaming and GST in India – Is the adoption of global best
practices a far cry?
‘The gaming industry has been waiting with hope and optimism for the
outcome of the meeting of the Group of Ministers. However, it appears
that the numerous pleas to consider and adopt global best practices,
have been unheard and the highest GST rate of 28% is proposed to be
levied on online gaming.’
Globally, most countries have regulated the online gaming sector with
specific legislations dealing with various aspects of online gaming
such as licensing, taxability, valuation, etc. For instance, the UK
levies a separate duty on online gaming called ‘Remote Gaming Duty’
(RGD) which is levied at 21% on ‘profits’ of the remote gaming
provider and played by the UK residents. Further, ‘profits’ would
mean, the difference between the total amount due from the UK
residents and the amount paid separately as prizes or that goes into
the pool of winning money. Therefore, in essence, the tax is levied on
the ‘rake fees’ earned by the gaming companies who conduct games on
their
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