The Directorate General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence (DGGI) has blocked 357 websites of illegal or non-compliant offshore online money gaming entities. DGGI has intensified its enforcement actions against offshore online gaming entities. The online money gaming industry comprises both domestic and foreign operators. Around 700 offshore entities involved in the supply of online money gaming, betting or gambling are under DGGI’s scanner. The Finance Ministry said in a statement that it has noticed that these entities are evading GST by failing to register, concealing taxable pay-ins, and bypassing tax obligations.
In a recent operation, DGGI targeted and blocked bank accounts that were being used to collect money from participants, attaching nearly two thousand bank accounts and four crore rupees. In another action, 392 bank accounts linked to UPI IDs found on the websites of some of these offshore entities have been put on debit freeze. A sum totalling 122.05 crore rupees has been provisionally attached in these accounts.
DGGI has so far blocked 166 mule accounts linked with online money gaming platforms from outside India. Three persons have been arrested till now, and an investigation against more such individuals is in progress. The government has advised the public to remain cautious and not engage with offshore online money gaming platforms, as it may jeopardise their personal finances.
