Big News For Casino Lovers Online Gamblers horse racing in Meghalaya Details Here
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Shillong: The northeastern state of Meghalaya has agreed to make big plans to bring casino and online gambling and gaming for tourists to rake in the much needed revenues in the state. Keeping the following in mind, a Group of Ministers (GoM) has agreed to recommend hiking the GST rate on casino, race course and online gaming services to 28 per cent.
The panel of ministers also decided that the tax will be levied on the entire “face value” or “bet amount” and not on the total transaction value. Total transaction value includes the prize money, or the net commissions (revenues) that accrue to gaming firms. According to media reports, the panel decided that the tax levy should be on the amount paid at the entry point, that is, while purchasing the chips but not on every betting transaction.
While in the case of horse racing, the existing practice of levying tax at 28 per cent on the entire bet amount is proposed to be continued.
Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma, who had led the GoM to study GST rates on Covid-related materials last year, said that the meeting also discussed whether there be a common or different GST rates on online gaming. However, the recommendation is subject to the final approval of the GST council, which will discuss it and will take the final call.
Currently, the GST rate applicable on online games involving betting or gambling is 28%, and for on games not involving betting or gambling it is 18%. A tax rate of 18% is also levied on the commission collected by online gaming platforms for each game.
The Gaming Act
Earlier the state government has come up with the Gaming Act following which the Gaming Rules 2021 will facilitate issuing of licenses to operators to conduct games of skill and chance both in online and offline version.
“As we have seen in many states, this venture has positive impacts not just in terms of GST revenues but also in terms of generating a lot of employment opportunities from the vibrant tourism industry,” Sangma told PTI.
The move to get into gaming in a big way comes some forty years after archery-based betting was first legalized in Meghalaya, raking in big revenue to the state’s exchequer The Khasi Hills Archery Sport Association conducts the well-known ‘Shillong Teer’, an archery-based lottery.
