India, June 2 -- The Supreme Court's two recent verdicts bringing the online gaming sector under the purview of the Central Goods and Service Tax (CGST) Act and upholding state laws banning these digital platforms has set the record straight on a host of legal issues governing this growing industry.

The twin decisions delivered by a bench of justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan on May 27 have profoundly impacted the way such games used to be perceived as games of skill rather than of chance. The judgment dealt a blow to these companies by holding that once money is risked upon an uncertain outcome, the activity acquires the character of betting and gambling, making it amenable to the state's legislative control.

The GST tax demand rais...