Fantok Which is a Real Money Gaming Startup, Stopped Its Operations Due to 28% GST Imposition

The real money gaming app Fantok has stopped its operations due to the government's decision to keep the 28% Goods and Services Tax on online gaming earnings, which has resulted in more negative outcomes.  

However, we encountered a series of challenges along the way. The changing regulatory environment for real money gaming in India, as revealed earlier this year, brought about intricate legal obstacles that made us reconsider our path," the company explained in a statement.

Fantok's legal advisors have highlighted that the current situation presents uncertainties that cannot be overlooked, the company noted. 

"The recent 28% GST implementation on the complete earned money including high TDS and concerns regarding payment gateways, enhanced these challenges and made them tougher. 

Moreover, the considerable expense of customer conversion has put a significant burden on our resources," Fantok explained.

Amid the current situation, we have taken the tough call to temporarily pause Fantok's operations. This break will give us the chance to rethink our approach and find a way forward that suits the changing regulatory environment while still staying true to our mission of providing valuable user experiences. 

Fantok, headquartered in Gurugram, was founded in 2022 by Ronak Ahuja, Prakhar Saxena, and Ashok Vishwakarma. It has gained over 15,000 downloads in just 3 months and a community of more than 130 creators. 

Fantok is now the third startup to be affected by the 28% tax imposition, leading to either suspended operations or workforce reductions. Earlier, Mobile Premier League and Hike's Rush Gaming took similar steps to cut costs. 

MPL laid off around 350 employees, while Rush downsized its team by about 55 members. The decision to apply a tax on gross gaming revenue was met with criticism from the gaming industry. 

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