The recent decision of the 50th GST Council to levy a 28 percent tax on the gross amount involved in online games has raised concerns within the gaming industry and among consumers.

The potential of the online gaming industry has been realised for some time to generate jobs and revenue and also saw significant growth during the pandemic and attracted foreign investment. However, the decision to impose a uniform tax rate on the entire amount pooled in online games is somewhere industry unfriendly and not in line with global practices.