India’s Supreme Court is now at the center of an ongoing legal debate: Should games traditionally seen as skill-based—like rummy and chess—be taxed under the same Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime as gambling?
Government Questions the Nature of Skill Games
On 5 May, Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan presided over a hearing where the Government and online gaming platforms presented their arguments.
Additional Solicitor General N. Venkataraman, speaking for the Government, asserted that adding monetary stakes to games of skill effectively transforms them into gambling.
“Then it will become gambling, in spite of being a game of skill… Betting on a game of skill is statutorily considered gambling,” he argued.
Industry Pushes Back on Redefinition
Senior Advocate A.M. Singhvi, representing one of the gaming companies, strongly disagreed. He questioned whether the mere act of placing a wager fundamentally changes the nature of a game.
“Is the government saying that in chess, the moment I put money on it, the game metamorphosises from a game of skill into a game of chance?” he asked.
Singhvi also cited previous rulings from five- and seven-judge benches that have consistently upheld the distinction between games of skill and chance.
Recent Government Actions and Regulatory Moves
This debate comes amid growing regulatory scrutiny. Earlier this year, the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with major sports bodies to prevent misleading or illegal gaming advertisements.
Meanwhile, the Government has already taken enforcement action by banning over 1,400 gaming websites following user complaints.
Jurisdictional Tensions Persist
In late March, Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw addressed Parliament regarding the Centre’s position on online gaming. He reiterated that individual Indian states retain the power to legislate their own gaming laws.
The exchange came after DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran pressed the Government for clarity on its national stance on regulating online gaming.
