Delta Corp Posts Second Straight Quarterly Loss as GST Provision Reaches $46.7 Million

India's listed casino operator has now provided ₹4.44 billion for historical GST, a fraction of the ₹168 billion first demanded in 2023, and this quarter's charge covers demands it says it has strong grounds to contest. Casino revenue fell 13.4% in a quarter without King Casino and the Sikkim property.

• Delta Corp reported a consolidated net loss attributable to shareholders of ₹1.06 billion, approximately $11.2 million, for the quarter to 30 September 2026, against a profit of ₹251 million a year earlier, after a further GST provision of ₹1.37 billion
• The group's total GST provision, including interest, now stands at ₹4.44 billion, approximately $46.7 million, against show-cause notices of ₹168.23 billion issued in 2023 to Delta Corp and two subsidiaries
• The provision follows the Supreme Court's May 2026 judgment and orders in Goa and Sikkim that taxed casinos on chips sold rather than on gross bet value, and now includes a demand on casino entry packages that the June quarter left unprovided
• Consolidated casino gaming revenue fell 13.4% year on year to ₹1.51 billion, approximately $15.9 million, with King Casino idle in Goa and the Deltin Denzong casino in Sikkim closed
• Delta says it has strong grounds to contest the whole entry-package demand and the interest on the chips demand, and has paid ₹809.7 million of principal since the quarter ended

A Further ₹1.37 Billion Charge Turns a Small Operating Profit Into a Loss

Delta Corp Ltd (NSE: DELTACORP, BSE: 532848), which runs casinos in Goa, including vessels on the Mandovi river, and a hotel in Daman, filed its unaudited results for the quarter to 30 September 2026 with the National Stock Exchange of India on 19 October. Before exceptional items and tax the group made ₹215.7 million, approximately $2.3 million, down 37.8% from ₹346.9 million a year earlier. An exceptional GST charge of ₹1.37 billion, approximately $14.4 million, turned that into a loss attributable to shareholders of ₹1.06 billion, after a profit of ₹251 million a year earlier, a figure Inside Asian Gaming reported as US$11.2 million.

It is the second loss in a row. In the June quarter Delta lost ₹2.12 billion, approximately $22.4 million, after a first GST provision of ₹3.07 billion, which leaves the half-year loss at ₹3.19 billion, approximately $33.6 million.

Revenue from operations fell 12.8% to ₹1.59 billion. Casino gaming revenue was ₹1.51 billion, down 13.4% from ₹1.75 billion and flat on the June quarter. The parent company's own casino revenue slipped only 3.0%, to ₹1.19 billion, so the rest of the group's casino revenue fell from ₹520 million to ₹322 million, on iGaming Times' arithmetic from the standalone and consolidated statements. King Casino did not operate during the quarter after vacating its Mandovi berth for a new vessel, which needs the Bombay High Court's permission to open, and the Deltin Denzong casino in Sikkim closed in the June quarter, according to the filing. Floods shut The Deltin hotel in Daman for 37 days from 23 July.

What the Provision Covers

The Directorate General of GST Intelligence served Delta and two subsidiaries, Highstreet Cruises & Entertainment and Delta Pleasure Cruise Company, with show-cause notices for ₹168.23 billion, approximately $1.77 billion, on 27 September 2023, for July 2017 to March 2022, according to the filing. Deltatech Gaming, Delta's former online associate, received a further ₹63.84 billion, approximately $672 million, and notices in March and September 2026 added ₹18.84 billion, approximately $198 million, for 2022-23. The notices taxed the gross value of every bet; since 1 October 2023 casinos have paid 28% on the amount players pay for chips.

The Supreme Court ruled on 27 May 2026 that the 2023 rules apply back to 2017. Delta called it "a favourable outcome" the next day, because tax would fall on chips sold rather than on gross bet value, which it said had the effect of "notionally multiplying the revenue". On 25 September the Goa Central GST Commissionerate set a differential demand of ₹793.2 million on chips sold, with interest at 18% a year from 1 October 2023, and ₹371.1 million on casino entry packages, which it held to be a mixed supply taxable at 28%, with a penalty of the same amount. On 14 October the Siliguri Commissionerate issued demands of ₹16.4 million on chips and ₹14.3 million on entry packages for the Sikkim casino, each with interest and a penalty equal to the tax.

The June-quarter provision covered GST on casino transactions for July 2017 to September 2023 and recognised nothing for mixed supply. The September-quarter note adds mixed supply for July 2017 to September 2025, without splitting the ₹1.37 billion charge between the two. Delta says the provision is made "on prudence basis" and that, on legal advice, it has strong grounds to contest the entire mixed-supply demand and the interest on the chips demand. After the quarter ended, the group paid ₹809.7 million, approximately $8.5 million, of principal for 2017 to 2022.

The Supreme Court Turned an Existential Bill Into a Manageable One

The ₹4.44 billion provision is less than 3% of the ₹168.23 billion first demanded of Delta and its subsidiaries; in September 2023 Inside Asian Gaming reported the first demand as about three times Delta's market value. The same valuation logic took about three-quarters off the demands against Dream11, Gameskraft and Games24x7. Head Digital Works, Play Games24x7 and others asked the court in July to review the judgment, according to exchange4media; we found no report that the review has been decided, and Delta, which called the ruling favourable, is not among the petitioners named. Delta's dispute is no longer about whether it owes GST on its casinos but about interest, penalties and entry packages, and the total is now below one year's revenue rather than a multiple of the company's value.

The Entry-Package Charge Is Where the Fight Has Moved

Delta has provisioned for a demand it says it can defeat. The Goa order treats an entry package, which Delta's June-quarter filing says bundles casino access with food, drink and transport, as a single supply taxed at 28%. Delta argues the components are charged separately and that liquor sits outside GST. If that view prevails, part of this quarter's charge could be written back; if it does not, the same treatment could reach any Indian casino that sells entry the same way. The penalty basis matters too: the June-quarter provision used Section 73, the non-fraud provision, while both orders impose Section 74 penalties equal to the tax on entry packages.

A Casino-Only Company With Fewer Casinos

Delta agreed on 20 February 2025 to sell Deltatech Gaming to Head Digital Works, operator of A23, taking a stake in the buyer, before India banned real-money gaming in August 2025. After the ban it wrote those stakes down to nil, booking a ₹4.6 billion fair-value loss through other comprehensive income, and the judgment now lets it drop its indemnity to the buyer for Deltatech's GST. What remains is Goa, with one vessel idle pending court approval, and the Daman hotel, where its Supreme Court petition to install slot machines has been admitted.

The court has cut Delta's GST exposure to a sum it can pay, and it has started paying. Its earnings now depend on King Casino's return and on how any appeal against the entry-package orders ends.