New Delhi, May 27 -- The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the retrospective 28 per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST) levy on online gaming companies as constitutionally valid.

A bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan said online gaming platforms are not mere intermediaries but are to be treated as suppliers amenable to the GST regime on levies and taxes.

The bench held that organised online gaming activities, including fantasy games involving pooled stakes and contingent price structures, give rise to actionable claims and supplies exigible to GST under the statutory framework governing betting and gambling transactions.

It said that even skill-based games acquire the character of betting and gambling for GST once money is sta...