Indian Fantasy Sports Industry Can Drive Foreign Investments: TIOL Whitepaper

A new whitepaper has recommended providing tax certainty to the fantasy sports industry and ensuring an ideal tax rate to enable higher foreign direct investment (FDI) and a rise in tax revenue for the government.

The whitepaper by Tax India Online (TIOL) highlighted the meteoric growth of fantasy sports in India and its potential contribution to the digital economy. It stressed on the fact that fantasy sports has been a key sector for innovation and investment over the last few years.

The document outlined that regulators should take note of the growth potential of this sector and set tax rates based on a valuation model that differentiates between games of chance and games of skill.

As per the report, India has overtaken the US as the largest fantasy sports market globally, with close to 13 crore users. The US held the record of most users for 50 years. India also has the world’s largest fantasy sports operator.

According to the TIOL report data, the fantasy sports industry generated Rs. 4,700 crore in revenue in FY21, and is expected to reach Rs. 9,500 crore by FY23. The industry has already attracted Rs. 10,000 crore in FDI till 2021, and is expected to witness another Rs. 15,000 crore in FDI over the next three years.

The operators of this industry have paid Rs. 1,500 in taxes for FY21 (GST + TDS + Corporate Tax). A report by PwC that came out in 2019 predicted that the GST contribution of the industry over the next five years would be approximately Rs. 3,000 – 3,500 crore.

Regarding the employment data, the fantasy sports industry has generated almost 3,400 jobs directly and indirectly and is anticipated to produce 12,000 more jobs in India over the next 2-3 years.

The industry pays 18% GST on Platform Fee or GGR (Gross Gaming Revenue) collected (the amount under consideration against the supply of services by the fantasy sports operators, which is the subject matter of levy of tax under the GST regulations).

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