ORDER

The main question/issue that arises for consideration in these petitions is, whether offline/online games such as Rummy which are mainly/preponderantly/substantially based on skill and not on chance, whether played with/without stakes tantamount to ‘gambling or betting’ as contemplated in Entry 6 of Schedule III of the Goods and Services Act, 2017.

I. FACTUAL MATRIX M/s.Gameskraft Technologies Pvt. Ltd., (for short ‘the GTPL’) claims to be an Online Intermediary Company incorporated in June 2017, who runs technology platforms that allow users to play skill based online games against each other. Petitioner - GTPL contends that it has over 10 lakh users from across India and is headquartered in Bangalore and registered under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (for short ‘ the CGST Act’) and the Karnataka Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (for short ‘the KGST Act’). It is contended that the said company is a legally compliant company, who has been duly filing GST returns and has paid GST and is a bonafide tax payer having paid tax returns on a timely basis and has paid substantial tax to the tune of Rs.1,600/- crores under GST and Income Tax Laws upto June 2022.

2. During