A just-released white paper on ‘international best practices in GST for online gaming’ by minimum deposit casino law firm Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan (LKS) notes there will be significant revenue loss, expectedly to the tune of over ₹5,000 crore per year if India prefers an onerous taxation regime. It may see users shifting from legitimate online skill gaming platforms to offshore online illegitimate gambling and betting platforms, which are not contributing anything to the country in the form of taxes. With no monetary consideration involved in online gaming, it will not attract GST. However, if any platform commission/service fee is collected, it is to be seen if a higher 28% or a lower GST rate would apply for online gaming.

Impact of India’s New Rules for The Online Gaming Industry

While gaming does not yet command a double-digit share of the overall advertising pie, its contribution is material, particularly in digital-first spends. Save taxes with Clear by investing in tax saving mutual funds (ELSS) online. Our experts suggest the best funds and you can get high returns by investing directly or through SIP. For more information, read our article on Taxation of Distribution of Lottery Tickets under GST. (Bloomberg) — Macau’s gaming revenue rose 14.9% in November, exceeding analysts’ expectations in a month that’s typically slow due to a lack of holidays. Around 71 percent of the respondents played fantasy cricket followed by 54 percent played football, while the non-cricket sports leagues in the country are also witnessing increasing traction, it said.

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• “2016 was the breakout year for mobile AR games,” says Lewis Ward, research director of gaming and AR/VR at IDC.
• Meanwhile, Microsoft’s Productivity and Business Processes, including its Office products, saw a 12% year-over-year increase, reaching $28.3 billion in revenue.
• The category contributes around Rs 4,500 crore to overall advertising spends in India in a year.
• Microsoft’s OEM and Devices revenue, now reported together, witnessed a modest 2% increase.

The Digital Games Tax Offset and state-level rebates incentivise both domestic and foreign studios to establish production in Australia. The esports sector benefits from growing brand sponsorship, live event attendance, and streaming viewership. Additionally, global cross-platform and cloud gaming trends are expanding the accessible market, boosting player acquisition and engagement. An exhaustive desk research process is then undertaken, referencing secondary and proprietary databases to capture the full scope of the market.

The Bill proposes that any person offering online money gaming service in violation of the stipulated provisions will face imprisonment of up to three years or a fine that may extend to Rs 1 crore, or both. The provisions also stipulate imprisonment of up to two years and or a fine of up to Rs 50 lakh, or both, for those indulging in advertisements in contravention of rules. Satya Nadella, chair and CEO of Microsoft, highlighted the company’s AI focus in a statement. “AI-driven transformation is changing work, work artifacts, and workflow across every role, function, and business process,” he said. “We are expanding our opportunity and winning new customers as we help them apply our AI platforms and tools to drive new growth and operating leverage.” Microsoft’s AI business is expected to exceed a $10 billion annual run rate this quarter.

Nearly 85 percent of the respondents from the major cities play fantasy sports 1-3 times a week as compared to nearly 70 percent of respondents from smaller cities who play more than four times a week on such platforms. Nazara Technologies is the leading India based diversified gaming and sports media platform with presence in India and across emerging and developed global markets such as Africa and North America, and offerings across the interactive gaming, eSports and gamified early learning ecosystems. Online games of skills include e-sports, fantasy games, rummy and poker or chess. Such games are either free to participate or involve real money in the form of platform fees. Another player in the space Digital Works Pvt Ltd said the industry’s ask for GST on gross gaming revenue, rather than entry fees, is a crucial step towards ensuring the growth and development of this sunrise sector in India.

He pointed out that although it’s unlikely that VR will be able to replicate that success in 2017, its growth will be rapid; and competitive sports gaming will play a huge role in that growth. The number of fantasy sports operators in the country has seen a 7x growth to touch 70 in 2018 from 10 in 2016. The sports fantasy users, however, has seen a 25x growth to reach over 50 million in February 2019 from 2 million in June 2016. The report highlights important case studies from the UK and France and recommends they must be considered by the GST Council. However, it soon shifted to 15% GST on GGR as the earlier tax model was causing the movement of bookmakers to offshore tax havens, leading to a loss of revenue for the government. The report further noted the shift from turnover tax at the rate of 7% to GGR at 15% in the UK led to new investments and created employment opportunities.