BENGALURU, Sept 25 Reuters Shares of Indian casino operator Delta Corp plunged as much as 20 on Monday to their lowest since January 2021, after the company said that it received a notice to pay 111.40 billion rupees 1.34 billion in tax arrears.

Delta Corp, which owns casinos as well as poker and rummy websites, added that the company and two of its units received intimations of an additional tax shortfall aggregating to 56.83 billion rupees for the period between July 2017 and March 2022.

The notice deals another blow to the gaming company which is already contending with the federal government39;s elevated levies.

The stock logged its steepest intraday percentage decline since July 12, when the country39;s Goods and Services Tax GST Council decided to impose a 28 indirect tax on money collected by gaming companies, which industry experts had said would sap earnings of the 1.5 billion online gaming industry. The stock had lost a fifth of its value then.

The shares pared some of the losses and were last down nearly 18 at 144.05 rupees apiece, pushing them down 32 this year. Meanwhile, peers Nazara Technologies and Onmobile Gaming climbed about 18 and 46, respectively this year.

While global investors have urged Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to review the 28 gaming tax, citing a setback to prospective investments of about 4 billion, the country39;s revenue secretary had said there was no need to rethink the tax.

1 82.9700 Indian rupees

Reporting by Varun Vyas…