"The Council will deliberate and approve the amendments to GST law in order to implement the decision taken by it in its last meeting to levy GST at the rate of 28% on the face value (of bets) in online gaming, casinos and horse racing," the person said on condition of anonymity.

There is no going back on the decision to implement 28% tax on the face value of online gaming bets on par with casinos and horse racing, the person explained, adding that the decision was taken by consensus and that states favoured this legislative move.

At the forthcoming meeting next Wednesday, the Council will consider and clear the amendments to be made to the CGST Act and respective state GST laws to give effect to the Council's decision.

The urgent meeting has been called to clear the fine print of the legislative changes needed so that CGST Act amendments can be enacted during the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament itself. State assemblies have to clear the SGST Act changes.

The urgency also comes from the fact that amendments will be clarificatory in nature as the government believes that the legislative intent has always been to tax these online transactions at 28% on their full face value. Also, the government is in the process of approaching the Supreme Court challenging a Karnataka High Court decision that favoured the online gaming industry.

An email sent to the finance ministry on Wednesday evening seeking comments for the story remained unanswered at the time of publishing.

After the last GST Council meeting, an official statement had indicated that GST law changes would be made soon.

"Amendments to GST law will be brought to specify that tax will be applicable on the face value of the chips purchased in the case of casinos, on the full value of the bets placed with bookmaker/totalizator in the case of horse racing and on the full value of the bets placed in case of the online gaming," the official statement from finance ministry then explained.

Online gaming industry players have been expressing their protest at this decision, saying it will impact the health of this sector.

According to Invest India, a national agency for promoting and facilitating investments, India is the world's largest mobile gaming market in terms of app downloads.

The sector is expected to grow by 20% by FY25 to reach ₹23,100 crore, according to the agency. India has the largest fantasy sports market, with a user base of 180 million, according to Invest India. The country's gaming sector has raised $2.8 billion from domestic and global investors in the last five years and has produced three unicorns, according to information available from Invest India.