Budget 2023-24: Online gaming companies welcome clarity on taxation

Online gaming firms have welcomed the clarity Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman provided in Budget 2023-24 on taxation of money won by users. But what has really cheered the industry is the clear definition of what constitutes an online game.

Through the Finance Bill, the government has included section 115BBJ in the Income Tax Act, which defines an online game as one that is offered on the internet and is accessible by a user through a computer resource including any telecommunication device.

Vikash Sureka, chief financial officer, Mobile Premier League (MPL), said the Finance Bill has made a critical distinction between games of skill and games of chance, classifying them into separate sections.