Online Gaming Under GST: From Platform Fees to Full Face Value—The Supreme Court's New Rules of the Game
The long-running debate over whether online games involving stakes should be taxed as platform services or as betting and gambling has now been decisively addressed by the Supreme Court in Gameskraft Technologies Pvt. Ltd. v. Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) & Ors [TS-391-SC-2026-GST ]. The judgment significantly reshapes the legal and tax treatment of online gaming under the GST regime.
The Court held that the key question is not whether the underlying game is predominantly one of skill or chance. What matters is whether a participant, upon staking money, acquires a conditional right to win upon the occurrence of an uncertain event. If such a right arises, the transaction assumes the character of betting and gambling, and the actionable claim resulting from it becomes taxable under GST.
