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Online gaming startup One World Nation (OWN) has temporarily halted its real money gaming operations. This is yet another real-money gaming firm that has become a casualty of the Goods and Services Council (GST) Council’s decision of 28 per cent GST on full face value for real-money gaming.
“We went live nearly 15 months ago, launching our NFTs with much love from the community. The idea of a gaming platform around cryptocurrencies felt unique and powerful at the same time,” OWN said.
The startup offered non-fungible tokens (NFT)-based play-to-earn games. The 28 per cent GST levy made its model difficult, said the company.
Founded in February 2022 by Akhil Gupta, Dinesh Goel, Kunal Jadhav, Mayank Shekhar, OWN raised $2 million in its seed funding round from Better Capital, Polygon Studios, Cloud Capital and Indigg last year.
Earlier this year, the GST Council levied 28% GST on full face value for online gaming companies, with no distinction between games of skill and games of chance.
This comes when real-money gaming companies are facing the heat after the decision. Several startups are laying off employees and or halting operations.
Gaming companies such as Quizy and Fantok have either shut operations entirely or temporarily halted them in response to the changing landscape.
Meanwhile, MPL, Hike, and Spartan Poker sacked employees following the GST Council’s decision.
The move caused an upheaval in the gaming industry, with a number of
Notwithstanding, online gaming companies are also staring at tax notices from the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI). Real-money gaming unicorn Dream11’s parent company, Dream Sports, has filed a writ petition in the Bombay High Court, challenging the show cause notice issued by tax authorities for alleged goods and services tax (GST) evasion and failure to pay 28 per cent GST on the face value of bets.
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