West Bengal passes bill to impose 28% GST on Online Gaming

The West Bengal assembly passed a bill on Thursday aimed at taxing online gaming, horse racing, and casinos at the highest GST rate of 28% on the whole face value of the bets involved.

The West Bengal Goods and Services Tax (Second Amendment) Bill, 2023, will increase the state’s revenue, according to Minister of State for Finance Chandrima Bhattacharya.

West Bengal is one of the states that has advocated for the maximum possible rate on such online gaming and similar activities, the Minister of State for Finance added.

According to Bhattacharya, online gaming, casinos, and horse racing are all games of chance, not skill, and the “right to participate and the right to win are unable to be separated” in these circumstances.

West Bengal has been in favour of taxing these kinds of activities at the highest rates, according to the minister, who is a member of the GST Council.

She further claimed that there was a delay in presenting this bill in the assembly because the governor wanted to answer various questions about it. GST rates for these activities will be effective in numerous states on October 1, this year.

According to the minister, the state has yet to receive Rs. 467 crore from the Centre due to the Inter-State Goods and Services Tax (IGST).