Delta Corp, Nazara Technologies shares slide up to 7% after GST Council imposes 40% levy on casinos, gaming

Shares of Delta Corp and Nazara Technologies came under pressure, falling up to 7% on Thursday after the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council approved a steep 40% tax on casinos, betting, and online money games, a move that threatens to weigh heavily on the country’s listed gaming and casino companies.

Delta Corp shares tumbled as much as 7.2% to Rs 88.35 on the BSE, while Nazara Technologies, India’s largest listed gaming company by market capitalization, fell 1.6%.

The 56th meeting of the GST Council, chaired by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, cleared a “next-generation GST reform” package that reduces the current four-rate structure to two slabs of 5% and 18%, while introducing a 40% slab for luxury and demerit goods.

“For all specified actionable claims including betting, casinos, gambling, horse racing, lottery and online money gaming, GST rate of 40% will apply,” the finance ministry said in a release. The new rates will take effect from September 22.

While tickets for recognised sporting events sanctioned by national and international federations will remain taxed at the standard 18% above Rs 500, and exempt below that threshold, the new 40% rate will apply to IPL games and similar high-profile events.

The marathon Council meeting lasted 10.5 hours, during which the Centre and states hammered out the new tax structure.

Fallout for gaming companies

The sharper levy comes just a day after Delta Corp said it had shelved plans for a Rs 2,000–2,500 crore integrated resort-cum-casino township in Goa’s Dhargal, citing uncertainty around the GST framework.

India’s leading casino operator, which runs offshore and onshore casinos in Goa and Sikkim, reported a 36.1% rise in net profit to Rs 29.4 crore in the June quarter, but EBITDA fell 16.2% year-on-year to Rs 39.6 crore.

Nazara Technologies, a diversified player with interests in skill-based gaming and e-sports, also felt the heat from Thursday’s announcement, underscoring investor concerns over the broader gaming ecosystem.

The GST Council said the scrapping of the 12% and 28% slabs in favour of just 5% and 18% will lower costs for consumers and streamline compliance. The government described the measures as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s effort to make the indirect tax regime “efficient, equitable and growth-oriented.”

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