The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that online gaming platforms cannot be treated merely as intermediaries and observed that such activities amount to actionable claims under GST law.

The ruling comes as a setback for online gaming companies that had challenged the retrospective tax demand, arguing that treating online gaming as “gambling” under GST law contradicted judicial precedents established by the Supreme Court and various High Courts over the years.

The supreme court has pronounced its order in the matters relating to the show cause notices issued to the company and its subsidiaries for short payment of goods and services tax.

In an exchange filing, the company said that a copy of the Supreme Court’s order was not yet available. However, based on the limited information currently available, the company believes that the basis of GST computation adopted by it since October 2023 would now apply retrospectively for the period between July 2017 and September 2023 as well.

The company stated that this interpretation would be a favourable for its business, as the levy of GST would accordingly not be on the amount of gross bet value of all games played during the relevant period (which had the effect of notionally multiplying the revenue and consequently the GST payable on it), but would be on the amount received from players for the chips sold to them.

Recently, the company reported a sharp decline in earnings for Q4 FY26. Its consolidated net profit tumbled 90% to Rs 16.45 crore on a 11.72% decline in revenue from operations to Rs 161.25 crore in Q4 FY26 over Q4 FY25.

Delta Corp is engaged in the casino (live, electronic, and online) gaming industry in India. The company is engaged in diversified segments like casino gaming, online gaming, hospitality, and real estate.