India announces new 28 percent tax on online gaming

India today unveiled a significant increase in sales tax for online gaming companies in a major blow to the industrywhich was experiencing a period of rapid growth, and which was quick to describe the measure as catastrophic and unconstitutional.

The Goods and Services Tax Council of India, comprising the chief federal and state finance ministers, said it agreed to impose a 28% excise tax on online gaming, casinos and horse racing.

The council said there should be no distinction between “game of skill” and “game of chance,” closing a loophole that has allowed fantasy sports companies to justify their offerings as skill-based, so in a way , This 28 percent tax is not designed to stop businesses, but rather to let the government take a piece of that money.

Online gaming is one of the fastest growing businesses in India, with companies like Dream Sports, valued at over $8 billion, have raised billions of dollars as a generation of Internet users gets into the habit of placing bets on real-world sporting events.

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