The Indian government is increasing its scrutiny of offshore internet-based money gaming websites, particularly those endorsed by Bollywood celebrities, cricketers, and social media influencers. The Finance Ministry’s tax enforcement department has recently blocked 357 illegal offshore gaming websites, froze ₹126 crore, and placed a freeze on 2,400 bank accounts belonging to these operations.
In a public warning, the Finance Ministry cautioned their usage of such offshore platforms, citing the danger for personal finances as well as the overall effect on financial integrity and country security. “Various celebrities and influencers have been endorsing these platforms, and the public needs to exercise caution,” the ministry stated.
Prior to the Indian Premier League (IPL) season, drive enforcement will be intensified to monitor illegal gaming operations. The ministry stated that choosing endorsed platforms for safe gaming was an important one.
In addition to cracking down on foreign players, the Directorate General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence (DGGI) also conducted an operation against Indian nationals operating money gaming websites online from abroad. These players have been discovered facilitating online gambling for Indian players through websites like Satguru Online Money Gaming, Mahakaal Online Money Gaming, and Abhi247. The DGGI has frozen 166 mule accounts connected with these operations and arrested three individuals, with probes ongoing.
The offshore gaming operators’ crackdown by the DGGI is a general push to regulate the foreign and domestic online money gaming industry. Online money gaming was identified as a supply of goods under the GST law and charged 28% tax. Every operator in the trade needs to register under GST.
Approximately 700 offshore operators operating online gaming, betting, and gambling are in the eye of the DGGI. They have mostly been found evading the laws of GST, not registering, and concealing taxable income. “357 illegal offshore online gaming operators’ websites and URLs have been blocked so far in consultation with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY),” the DGGI confirmed.
During a recent operation, the DGGI has gone for bank accounts that had been utilized for receiving amounts from participants, and attaching almost 2,000 accounts and ₹4 crore was the outcome. In addition to this, 392 bank accounts related to UPI IDs of these offshore parties have been frozen with a provisional attachment of ₹122.05 crore.
The inability of foreign gaming organizations to abide by the regulations distorts competitive fairness as well as jeopardizes local businesses and the market at large. Investigations have shown that these organizations tend to create new domain names in a bid to avoid blocks and conduct transactions using mule bank accounts. Funds that pass through such accounts can be utilized to fund criminal enterprises, raising severe concerns regarding national security.
