Fantasy cricket winnings feel like free money until the tax rules arrive. In India, winnings from online games are taxed at a flat 30% under Section 115BBJ of the Income Tax Act, and the platform must deduct tax at source under Section 194BA when you withdraw. There is no exemption limit, no slab benefit, and no deduction for your entry fees beyond the net-winnings calculation itself. This article explains the rules in plain words. It is general information, not tax advice, and if you win a large amount you should speak to a chartered accountant before filing your return.

The core rule is simple: your net winnings from online games are taxed at a flat 30%, plus surcharge and cess where applicable. Net winnings means your total winnings minus the entry fees you paid for those games, calculated across your account for the financial year under Rule 133. You cannot deduct other expenses, you cannot set off gaming losses against your salary or business income, and the basic exemption limit does not apply to this income. The tax applies whether you played on a large registered platform or a small offshore app, and it applies even to winnings from games that are no longer legal to offer.

Note the important 2026 change: from 1 May 2026, the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act 2025 prohibits online money games in India, which is why the major apps moved to free-to-play contests. The tax rules did not disappear with the ban. They still apply to winnings earned before the ban, to any grace-period window, and to winnings from offshore apps. If you earned fantasy winnings in the 2025-26 financial year, you still owe tax on them, and the income tax department can see app credits through your Annual Information Statement. Here is a worked example with the arithmetic shown. Suppose your net winnings for the year are 10,000 rupees. The tax at 30% is 3,000 rupees, so you keep 7,000. With the 4% health and education cess, the effective rate is about 31.2%, which is 3,120 rupees on 10,000 of net winnings. That is the number to plan around: roughly a third of your net winnings belongs to the tax department, not to you.

Tax deducted at source is how most players first meet this rule. When you withdraw winnings, the platform calculates your net winnings for that withdrawal and deducts 30% before the money reaches your bank. If your withdrawal is mostly a return of deposits you made and have not yet won with, the calculation can produce zero net winnings, and no TDS is deducted on that withdrawal. Later withdrawals are calculated cumulatively, so the TDS on a later withdrawal can be higher than a simple 30% of that single transfer. Do not be surprised by this, it is how the prescribed calculation works.

If you do not withdraw, the platform must still deduct TDS on the net winnings remaining in your wallet at the end of the financial year, on 31 March. Either way, the tax is collected during the year, and your TDS appears in your Form 26AS and Annual Information Statement. The platform should also issue you a TDS certificate, Form 16A, which you will need when you file your return. Keep it, along with screenshots of your wallet statements, because the figures in your return must match the figures the department already holds.

When you file your income tax return, report the winnings under income from other sources, in the schedule for online games under Section 115BBJ, and reconcile the TDS already deducted. You cannot use ITR-1 if you have such winnings, because that form does not have the schedule for them; most players with gaming winnings file ITR-2. The most common mistake is not filing at all because TDS was already deducted. TDS is only a part payment, and the return is still required. Skipping it can trigger a notice, because the department already knows about the winnings from your AIS.

Keep a simple record through the year: deposits made, withdrawals received, TDS deducted, and the Form 16A from each platform you used. If you played on a platform that did not deduct TDS, your liability is identical, and you must pay the tax yourself through a challan before filing. Finally, remember that the 28% GST on deposits is a separate charge paid by the platform on the money you deposit, not a tax you file. Do not confuse it with your income tax, and do not treat a win as pure profit until you have set aside roughly a third of it for tax.

Fantasy winnings are taxed at a flat 30% on net winnings, with TDS deducted at withdrawal or year-end. Keep your records, file the right return, and set aside a third of every win before you spend it.