Online gaming has taken a big place in Indian public life in recent years. Battle Royale, Online Rummy, etc. are played by the young community. But games like these have been making headlines time and time again – sometimes with the government banning a game, other times with the loss of players from a game. In this situation yesterday means Tuesday, a major decision was taken regarding online gaming in the GST Council meeting of the country. In this regard, the central government has announced a 28 percent GST tax on online gaming such as casinos and horse racing. Naturally, there has been a storm of discussion on the matter in the business circles.
GST on online gaming, prominent businessman expresses displeasure with government’s decision
Indian businessman Ashneer Grover expressed his displeasure with the recent GST decision taken by the government. The former co-founder and managing director of BharatPe said the government has ‘killed’ fantasy gaming in the country. Did! Means this decision is completely wrong and unreasonable according to him. He raised the question that due to the government’s decision, in the case of online gaming, 28% GST will be levied on a game entry of 100 rupees and 30 percent TDS will be levied on the prize if it is won with 54 rupees, where is the logic in this? What intelligence is being used in this case?
Not only that, Ashni also said in a tweet that a $10 billion online gaming industry could have been created in India. But it seems to have been washed away in this current monsoon season.
Why Ashnir Grover was angry?
From Ashnir’s comments, one might naturally wonder why he is reacting so much to the issue. In that case, it is assumed that he has recently launched online gaming called ‘Cricpay’, which may be affected by the government’s new decision. Perhaps that is why he expressed his anger. However, not only these businessmen but also the companies running the fantasy leagues are saying that if higher taxes are imposed, their operations will be affected and they may transfer business to other countries for this. And, if true, it will be a big loss for India’s growing gaming industry.
India’s gaming industry at a glance
Online gaming has become a major industry in India during the interim period, growing at a rate of 28 to 30 percent. Looking at the current state of the industry, it is expected that the gaming industry base will be $5 billion by 2025, two years from now. During this time the number of gamers in India may increase from 420 million to 500 million.
