New Delhi: The Center on Wednesday consolidated its ban on online real money gaming, announcing rules under the Online Gaming Promotion and Regulation Act, 2025 and reiterating that such platforms will not be allowed to operate in India.
The rules, effective May 1, ban online real-money gaming while allowing non-cash games to be run without mandatory registration, except in select categories such as e-sports, and provide for the creation of a regulatory body to oversee the industry.
“It is very clear that online gaming for money is prohibited and cannot be registered or determined under the law,” Ministry of Electronics and IT Secretary S. Krishnan told a press conference, adding that the government had opted for a “light regulatory approach” for non-monetary gaming companies under the rules.
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The government’s strong stance on the ban on real money gaming is gaining ground as several stakeholders have pushed for a relaxation of the online definition during a consultation process over the past few months gaming to make room for such platforms. More than 2,500 stakeholders, including industry players and experts, have been working with the government to seek a more permissive approach.
Last year, several real money gaming platforms such as Mobile Premier League (MPL), Dream11 and Paytm First Games have curtailed or shut down some of their operations after the Center announced the Online Gaming Promotion and Regulation Act, 2025, which effectively banned real money gaming in the country.
When the first bill was introduced in August last year, Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the ban was based on concerns around user protection, financial risks and the growing presence of unregulated and offshore gaming platforms, prompting the government to draw a clear line between entertainment-based games, social games, e-sports and those involving monetary bets.
The newly notified rules equip the government with powers to direct gaming companies to store operational data, metadata and other relevant information on servers located in India through specific orders, directives or instructions. “There is no specific requirement in this law, but if it is needed in certain cases, the authority can issue a direction,” Krishnan said.
The rules to implement the Gambling Act came almost a year after the law was passed as the government introduced a clear framework for the gaming sector. Through the new rules, the Center aims to protect users from fraud and financial risks and to ensure greater oversight of online games.
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The advent of the online game controller
The rules pave the way for the Online Gaming Authority of India, which will function as a six-member committee chaired by an additional secretary from the IT ministry. The members will be joint secretaries from the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Ministry of Sports and Ministry of Law and Justice.
Under this framework, the classification of online games will take place in three ways: suo motu by the authority, through applications from esports authorities, or through central government notifications for specific social games.
“Most games that are not games for money should be able to operate without necessarily being either designated or registered,” Krishnan said, adding that the decision for certain games to be registered will be made after an assessment of whether the game involves payment of fees, deposits of money or other bets at any stage of participation.
The Authority will assess whether users play with the expectation of winning monetary or other enrichment in exchange for the money they deposit.
Under the finalized rules, age verification mechanisms or age gates are explicitly defined as basic user security features. Game companies are expected to implement these tools – along with parental controls and time limits – to protect users from financial, psychological and content risks.
A period of 90 days was set for such determinations. The determination of all online games will no longer be mandatory.
In an effort to offer long-term business stability for legitimate social game developers and For e-sports organizers, the government has significantly relaxed the validity of licenses For games that go through the registration process, the approved certificate of registration will now be valid for up to 10 years, compared to five years in the draft rules published in October last year.
“Obviously, the real money gaming industry will have to rethink its business models – but that’s a good thing because the term ‘gaming’ has become quite confusing in terms of how it’s defined in India,” said Rajan Navani, founder and CEO of Pune-based digital entertainment company Jetsynthesys.
“Casual games being labeled as entertainment and separated from money-based gaming results is a very positive step as it firmly defines casual games as a form of entertainment and will give confidence to many more in India to experience the sector extensively,” Navani added.
However, the new framework places a heavy burden on the banking and financial sector.
Banks, payment gateways and financial institutions are now required by law to verify a game’s registration certificate before facilitating any financial transactions or authorizing a user’s funds. If the authority labels an application as an illegal online money game, the financial institution must immediately suspend, restrict and block all payment processing related to the platform in accordance with the rules.
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“Enforcement will largely be through the banking and financial system,” Krishnan said.
He emphasized that placing a higher level of responsibility on the financial system is necessary, because without their help in limiting funds, the government would be forced to continuously monitor these platforms and their transactions.
