Gaming platform MPL to lay off 350 employees after 28% GST imposed on Online Gaming

Mobile Premier League (MPL), India’s prominent online gaming and fantasy sports firm, is cutting off 350 people, which represents about half of its India workforce, according to report.

This comes only weeks after New Delhi imposed a 28% tax on online real-money gaming. According to persons familiar with the case, the Bengaluru-based business originally indicated its plans to lay off staff last week and made a formal message on Tuesday.

MPL had previously declined to comment. However, the layoff was confirmed after the report was published.

The action comes after New Delhi implemented a new taxation guideline for the online gambling business. The Goods and Services Tax Council of India, made up of top federal and state finance ministers, has revealed intentions to slap a 28% indirect tax on internet gambling, casinos, and horse racing.

The All India Gaming Federation, which represents Mobile Premier League, Gameskraft, Paytm First Games, Zupee, Nazara, and Rush, called the new taxing law “unconstitutional, irrational, and egregious.”

Following that, many prominent investors, including Tiger Global, DST Global, Peak XV, Steadview Capital, and Kotak Private Equity, wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting him to review the “onerous tax regime.”

According to the investors’ association, the decision would result in a $2.5 billion write-off and the loss of 1 million direct and indirect employment. The Indian government, however, did not reverse its decision.