Nazara Technologies says 28% GST on online gaming to have minimal revenue impact

Nazara Technologies will proactively take steps to mitigate any potential impact to this segment.

Nazara Technologies expects minimal impact of the GST Council's decision to levy a 28 percent goods and services tax on online gaming on its revenues, the company said on July 12.

The diversified gaming and esports firm said the tax will apply only to the skill-based real money gaming segment of its business, once it is implemented. The segment contributed a modest 5.2 percent to its FY23 revenue.

The company also mentioned that it will proactively take steps to mitigate any potential impact to this segment.

Also Read: An absurd decision, GST Council

The Group of Ministers (GoM) on July 11 decided to levy a 28 percent GST on the full value of online gaming, horse racing and casinos with no distinction between games of skill and chance in the 50th GST Council Meeting, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.

Nazara Technologies currently operates titles such as Classic Rummy (online rummy) and Halaplay (online fantasy) in this space.

That said, Nazara Technologies founder Nitish Mittersain had told Moneycontrol in May 2023 that they are eyeing a larger presence in the real-money gaming business, with regulatory clarity appearing to emerge in the space following MeitY's online gaming rules, and the new income tax clarity on TDS.

"I think the only big bottleneck still left in real-money gaming is GST clarity" Mittersain said at the time.