28% GST impact: Online poker platform Spartan Poker lays off 125 employees

After Mobile Premier League (MPL) and Hike’s Rush Gaming, on-line poker platform Spartan Poker has reportedly turn out to be one other sufferer of presidency’s 28 per cent GST on on-line gaming.

Money Control reported on Friday that Spartan Poker has laid off 125 individuals, or 40 per cent of its workforce.

Founded by Amin Rozani, Sameer Rattonsey and Peter Abraham, Spartan Poker permits customers to play poker tournaments on-line.

Last week, Kavin Bharti Mittal-founded startup Hike had laid off almost 55 individuals. Mittal mentioned that the “400 per cent improve in GST is a bazooka pointed at us”.

Hike operates a Blockchain-based actual cash gaming platform known as Rush Gaming Universe (RGU).

Earlier, homegrown on-line gaming platform MPL had slashed its workforce by almost 50 per cent which is able to affect round 350 jobs, because the 51st GST Council assembly stayed agency on taxing on-line gaming at 28 per cent on gross worth collected.

Industry gamers have lamented that taxing GST on deposits quite than the know-how platform fee charged by the businesses will make the unit economics unviable, wiping out 80 per cent of the gaming business.

(With inputs from IANS)