NEW DELHI, Aug. 19 -- The Supreme Court has wrapped up months of hearings that could decide the fate of the country's fast-growing online real-money gaming industry, an outcome with billions of dollars in taxes and regulation at stake.

At the heart of the case is whether popular titles such as fantasy sports and online rummy should be treated as games of skill or as gambling. The verdict, expected later this year, will determine whether startups face nearly $20 billion (approximately Rs.1.5 trillion) in retrospective tax claims from the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) and whether the industry comes under a unified national law or remains subject to a patchwork of state-level rules.

But the hearings have also revealed a de...