New Delhi, May 8 -- India's Supreme Court is hearing a pivotal case that could dramatically reshape how online gaming platforms are taxed.

The tax tug-of-war traces back to the introduction of the GST in July 2017. Since then, online gaming platforms had been paying 18% GST on gross gaming revenue (GGR)-that is, the commission or platform fee they charged for hosting games.

But in 2023, the government threw a curveball. An amendment reclassified online gaming, along with casinos and horse racing, as "actionable claims"-a term in Indian law that refers to claims on debts or beneficial interests that can be enforced through legal action. This classification puts such games in the same tax category as lotteries and betting.

As a result, f...