India's Supreme Court has deferred a significant legal case regarding whether online real money gaming platforms are subject to Goods and Services Tax (GST). The tax claims involved in the case amount to approximately 25 billion rupees (about 290 billion US dollars), making it one of the largest cases in the history of Indian judiciary.
According to LawChakra, after a previous postponement, the central government requested an additional week on August 26 to submit supplementary materials. Government lawyer Chandrashekara Bharathi made the request during a court hearing presided over by judges JB Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan.
The case involves major operators such as Gameskraft and Delta Corp, as well as industry bodies like the All India Gaming Federation (AIGF), the Electronic Gaming Federation (EGF), and the Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS). Petitioners emphasize that online skill-based games fundamentally differ from gambling or betting and should not be subjected to the same GST framework. Lawyers representing the gaming platforms cited constitutional protections and criticized the government for categorizing gaming stakes as "claims subject to litigation," lacking legal basis.
Previous Supreme Court rulings (such as RMDC vs. KR Lakshmanan case) have also recognized the distinction between games of skill and games of chance, and refused to tax based on the "house advantage" of casinos.
Industry insiders believe that the final judgment in this case will clarify the tax and regulatory boundaries for India's online gaming business, distinguishing between skill-based entertainment and chance-based gambling, and will have a profound impact on the legal and financial environment of the entire industry.
