Online real-money gaming shut out as Centre opens door for non-money platforms

New Delhi: The Centre on Wednesday cemented its ban on real-money online gaming, notifying rules under the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, and reiterating that such platforms will not be allowed to operate in India.

The rules, effective 1 May, prohibit online real-money gaming, while allowing non-monetary games to operate without mandatory registration, except in select categories such as e-sports, and provide for the creation of a regulatory authority to oversee the sector.

“It is very clear that online money gaming is banned and they cannot be registered or determined under the Act,” electronics and IT ministry secretary S. Krishnan said in a press conference, adding that the government has opted for a “light-touch regulatory approach” for the non-money gaming companies under the rules.

The government’s firm stance on banning real-money gaming gains significance as several stakeholders, during the consultation process over the past few months, had pushed for a relaxation in the definition of online gaming to create space for such platforms. Over 2,500 stakeholders, including industry players and experts, had engaged with the government seeking a more permissive approach.

Last year, several real-money gaming platforms such as Mobile Premier League (MPL), Dream11, and Paytm First Games scaled down or discontinued parts of their operations after the Centre notified the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, which effectively banned real-money gaming in the country.

At the time when the first draft of the Act was introduced in August last year, Union IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had said that the ban came from 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 stakes.

The newly notified rules arm the government with powers to direct the gaming companies to store traffic data, metadata, and other relevant information on servers located within India through specific orders, guidelines or directions. “There is no specific requirement under this act, but if there is a need in certain cases, then a direction can be given by the authority,” Krishnan said.

The rules to implement the gaming Act have come nearly a year after the law was passed, as the government moves to put in place a clear framework for the gaming sector. Through the new rules, the Centre aims to protect users from fraud and financial risks, and ensure greater oversight of online games.

Under the framework, the classification of online games will take place through three routes: suo motu by the authority, through applications from esports bodies, or via notification by the central government for specific social games.

“Most games which are not money games should be able to operate with no obligation to necessarily either be determined or registered,” Krishnan said, adding that determination for certain games for registration will happen after assessing whether the game involves the payment of fees, deposits of money, or other stakes at any stage of participation.

The authority will evaluate whether users play with an expectation of winning monetary or other enrichment in return for the money they deposit.

Under the finalized rules, age verification or age gating mechanisms are explicitly defined as essential user safety features. Gaming companies are expected to implement these tools—alongside parental controls and time restrictions—to protect users from financial, psychological, and content-related risks.

A timeline of 90 days has been set for such determinations. The determination of all online games will no longer be mandatory.

In a bid to offer long-term business stability for legitimate social game developers and e-sports organizers, the government has significantly eased licensing validity For games that do undergo 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 that were released in October last year.

“The industry of real-money games will, of course, have to rethink their business models—but this is a good thing as the term ‘gaming’ has gotten quite confusing in terms of how it is defined in India,” said Rajan Navani, founder and chief executive of Pune-based digital entertainment firm, Jetsynthesys.

“For casual games to be termed as entertainment and being kept separate from money-based gaming outcomes is a very positive move, as this will firmly define casual games as an entertainment form, and give confidence to many more in India to experience the sector extensively," Navani added.

The new framework, however, places a heavy onus on the banking and financial sector.

Banks, payment gateways, and financial institutions are now legally mandated to verify a game’s certificate of registration before facilitating any financial transactions or authorizing user funds. If the authority flags an app as an illegal online money game, financial institutions must immediately suspend, restrict, and block all payment processing related to that platform, according to the rules.

“The enforcement will largely be through the banking and the financial system,” Krishnan said.

He emphasized that placing a higher level of responsibility on the financial system is necessary because without their help in restricting funds, the government would be forced to police these platforms and their transactions on an ongoing basis.