Maharashtra, the Indian state to collect taxes

Maharashtra, the Indian state is evaluating a budget considering the millionaire revenues from lotteries.

The state will be introducing a gaming tax in order to accumulate an amount of over US$142 million towards its annual budget. As reported by the authorities the measure seeks to retrieve the funds by means of new taxes from currently licensed lotteries of Indian states namely Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, and Mizoram.

Sugal & Damani Group, Essel (Zee) Group, and Martin Group are the brands under lottery operations in Indian states. In compliance with the Maharashtra Tax on Lotteries Act 2006, the liability of payment of tax rests with the promoter and companies must initiate contributing with regular taxes to invest in states’ budget.

As stated by the Maharashtra authorities in a letter sent to other states “Promoter is defined as government of any state or Union Territory or any country organising, conducting or promoting a lottery (in Maharashtra) and includes any person appointed as first importer for making lottery tickets in the state of Maharashtra by such government or country. Hence, assessment order and demand notice have been sent to the respective states.”

Furthermore, the State of Maharashtra is also evaluating the transference of the licensed paper lottery services to an online platform. This development comes following market studies showing that the online lottery modality generates further revenues for both the company and the state.