GST Council Meet Decision: 28 percent tax on online gaming will not be removed, decision will be applicable from October 1

The 28 percent tax on online gaming, casino, and horse racing will continue for the time being. This decision was taken in the 51st GST Council meeting held today.
After the meeting, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the decision to levy a 28 percent tax on the full face value of online gaming bets will be implemented from October 1.
Finance Minister Sitharaman said Delhi's finance minister opposed taxing online gaming, while Goa and Sikkim wanted to tax GGR (gross gaming revenue) and not face value. At the same time, other states from Karnataka to Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh want the decision taken in the last meeting to be implemented.
The Finance Minister said after the GST Council meeting that the 28 percent tax on online gaming, casino, and horse racing would be reviewed after six months of its implementation. The 28 percent tax decision is likely to be implemented from October 1 after necessary changes in central and state laws, he said.
Let us tell you that in the last i.e. 50th meeting of the GST panel held on July 11, it was decided to impose 28 percent GST on the full face value of the bets, after which the decision was strongly criticized by the world of online gaming.
Prior to this decision, online gaming, casino, and horse racing were taxed at 18 percent, which was increased by 10 percent to 28 percent by the GST Council. In today's GST meeting, the changes in the tax law required to implement this decision were to be discussed.
The GST Council is the apex decision-making body of the indirect tax regime, consisting of the Finance Minister and the Finance Ministers of all the states.