INTRODUCTION 

In August 2025, the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 (“Act”) took the Indian gaming industry by surprise by outlawing all “online money games”, regardless of whether such games were games of skill or chance (more background to the Act here).

On 22 April 2026, the government issued several notifications to lay down the foundation of an online gaming regulatory framework in India. It notified the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Rules, 2026 (“Rules”), and that the Rules and the Act (collectively, “Gaming Law”) will come into effect from 1 May 2026.

This article provides an overview of the key aspects of the Gaming Law.

EXTRA-TERRITORIAL APPLICATION

The Parliament noted that online money games and related activities may “operate from offshore jurisdictions, bypassing domestic laws [and] presenting significant enforcement challenges in terms of extra-territorial jurisdiction”.

Accordingly, the Gaming Law has an express provision to give it extra-territorial effect: section 1 of the Act specifies that it extends to “online money gaming service offered within the territory of India or operated from outside the territory of India”. 

GAMING REGULATOR

The Gaming Law establishes the Online Gaming Authority of India (“Gaming Regulator”) to regulate online gaming in India.

The Gaming Regulator has powers that are similar to other regulatory authorities in India, including the power to:

1. inquire into complaints regarding an online game;
2. coordinate with law enforcement authorities for the enforcement the Gaming Law; and
3. issue directions for registration of online social games and e-sports, and regulating the online gaming industry generally.

CLASSIFICATION OF GAMES AND THEIR TREATMENT 

The Gaming Law delineates online games into three categories: 
 

WHAT REMAINS YET TO BE NOTIFIED 

The Gaming Law forms the foundation of the regulatory framework for online games in India. However, there are several key requirements that are expected to be notified, for instance, on:

1. Registration and determination requirements for online social games: While all e-sports need to register with the Gaming Regulator, not all social games may have to be registered with the Gaming Regulator. Only those categories of social games need to be registered that the government may, by issuing a notification in this regard, require to be registered.
2. Point of contact: The government or the Gaming Regulator may issue directions requiring each entity offering e-sports or online social games to appoint a designated point of contact.
3. Data retention policies: The government or the Gaming Regulator may issue data retention and storage requirements (including localisation requirements).
4. Payment or banking services: The government or the Gaming Regulator may issue directions governing entities that provide payment or banking services to entities that offer e-sports or online social games. 

REGISTRATION PROCESS

In order to obtain a registration with the Gaming Regulator, an applicant must submit an application with the following details:

1. the identity, name and contact details; 
2. details of any registration, license, or authorisation held under any law for the time being in force; 
3. description and category of the online game; 
4. proposed category of the online game; 
5. the targeted and intended user age group; 
6. the revenue model; 
7. internal grievance redressal mechanism; 
8. an undertaking that the applicant has provided correct information;
9. any other details as may be required by the Gaming Regulator; and
10. user safety features: technical, procedural, operational, behavioural, or system related safeguards (i) to protect users from any financial, psychological, social, security related or content related risks; and (ii) for promoting responsible online gaming, preventing injury, enhancing transparency, enabling informed user choice and ensuring the integrity and safety of the online gaming environment. These include age verification or age gating mechanisms, time restrictions, parental controls, user reporting and grievance redressal mechanisms, counselling support, and fair-play and integrity monitoring tools.

The form in which these details need to be submitted will be notified in due course.

Upon receipt of an application, the Gaming Regulator will determine whether the online game is a game of skill or a game of chance. In making this determination, the Gaming Regulator will consider factors such as:

1. whether the game involves payment of fees, deposits or stakes at any stage;
2. whether users participate in the expectation of money or other enrichment in return for such money or other stakes deposited by them;
3. the use of payments made by the users for the game;
4. the structure and revenue model; and
5. the manner in which rewards, benefits or in-game assets are transferred, redeemed, monetised or used outside the game environment.

Once a game is registered, the Gaming Regulator will issue a certificate of registration with a unique registration number. This certificate may remain valid for up to 10 years, unless surrendered, suspended or cancelled earlier. Suspension or cancellation may occur on several grounds, including where the game has changed in a way that makes it an online money game, repeated non-compliance with the Gaming Regulator’s directions, withdrawal of sports recognition in the case of e-sports, false statements in the application, non-payment of penalties, or violation of applicable law. 

Gaming service providers must prominently display details of their determination or registration and must not misrepresent games as determined or registered unless that status genuinely exists.

GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL 

The Gaming Law establishes a three-tier grievance redressal system.

At the first level, each entity offering an online social game or an e-sport must establish a grievance redressal mechanism. 

At the second level, if a user is dissatisfied with the gaming service provider’s resolution, or if no resolution is provided, the user may approach the Gaming Regulator. 

At the third level, if a user is dissatisfied with the Gaming Regulator’s resolution, the user may prefer an appeal to the Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

PENALTIES

The Gaming Law prescribes stringent penalties. 

Offering or facilitating online money games or providing payment services to online money games may lead to fines of up to INR 1 crore, imprisonment of up to 3 years, or both. Advertisements of online money games may attract fines of up to INR 50 lakhs, imprisonment of up to two years, or both.

While deciding the quantum or nature of penalty, the Gaming Regulator will consider factors such as: 

1. the amount of unfair advantage or gain derived; 
2. the loss caused to any person; the history of recurrence of non-compliance; 
3. the gravity and duration of the violation; 
4. the number of users affected and the damage suffered; 
5. mitigating steps taken by the provider; 
6. the effectiveness and proportionality of the penalty; and 
7. any other relevant circumstance relating to damage caused or likely to be caused to users.

CONCLUSION

Unlike most other jurisdictions, India seeks to implement a specific regulatory framework for “e-sports” and “online social games”, while outrightly prohibiting “online money games” and “online money gaming services”.

With the notification of the Rules, India’s gaming regulatory framework has started to take shape and is inching closer to formalisation. At the same time, the framework lacks specific compliance requirements as of date, and the industry must keep an eye out for what the government or the Gaming Regulator notify in due course.  

The government’s initiative to promote online social games and e-sports remains laudable, and it will be interesting to see how an industry that has globally remained unregulated at large adapts to regulatory requirements in India.

[1] In the context of “online money games”, the expression “other stakes” is defined expansively to mean: “anything recognised as equivalent or convertible to money and includes credits, coins, token or objects or any other similar thing, by whatever name called and whether it is real or virtual, which is purchased by paying money directly or by indirect means or as part of, or in relation to, an online game.” The manner in which “other stakes” are defined gives the Gaming Law a deliberately wide anti-circumvention sweep.