Thiruvananthapuram. The state government will roll out an ordinance as a precursor to its move to bring betting, gambling, and online money games under the ambit of the GST framework. As per the latest report, the Kerala State Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) bill, which embraces the tweaks, is already before the state cabinet.

In July, the GST Council decided to levy a uniform 28 per cent tax for online gaming, casinos, horse racing, and others. As a result, there is a need to amend the state laws accordingly to bring these contests under the GST regime in the state. 

In the case of Kerala, the lottery is the only form of activity legally permitted in the state. Just because they fall under the Centre's GST Act does not make them legal in the state. For this, the state needs to adopt special legislation and regulations into the existing rules to authorise such contests. 

The state government may enable activities like gambling or betting in the future, similar to the policy tweaks related to bars in the IT and tourism sectors.

Although the lottery is legal in Kerala, the lottery is not allowed in many states, including Tamil Nadu. However, there are states where online lotteries are legal in addition to traditional ones. Similarly, there are states like Goa where betting and gambling are legal.

Centre aims to bring various businesses and services associated with such contests under the ambit of the GST regime. GST also applies to the amount received from abroad through online rummy and other games. 

According to the report, the state cabinet will shortly release an ordinance in this regard, as the Centre has requested that states modify their laws within two months.