India will impose complete enforcement of Real Money Games ban starting May 1

(AsiaGameHub) –   India will put into effect and enforce the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Rules (PROGA 2025) starting May 1, 2026.

This mandate—approved by both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on August 22, 2025—will institute a complete federal prohibition on any apps, devices, or services that feature real-money gaming systems and transactions.

Drafted by the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), the Act will facilitate the rollout of a federal framework allowing Indian authorities to oversee online gaming operations.

On May 1, MeitY will introduce the Online Gaming Authority of India (OGAI) as the sector’s new regulatory body, tasked with classifying games in line with PROGA’s provisions.

OGAI will be vested with powers to monitor compliance, probe illegal gaming practices, and resolve complaints about unlicensed real-money platforms aimed at Indian users.

Operating with “judicial authority,” OGAI will have powers comparable to a civil court, including summoning entities, examining evidence, and enforcing decisions. Enforcement of PROGA will be backed by India’s Central Police Force, and OGAI can call on the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for assistance.

Under the framework, online money gaming is defined as “an online game where a user pays fees, deposits money, or places other stakes with the hope of winning monetary rewards or other benefits”—regardless of whether the game relies on skill, chance, or a combination of both.

The law also covers the promotion and advertising of these services; violations can result in up to three years of imprisonment and fines of up to ₹1 crore (approximately €95,000).

MeitY’s board has stated that PROGA’s rules are crafted to target platforms, apps, and systems based not on their gameplay mechanics, but on “the existence of financial risk and reward.”

The rules will set up a three-tier classification system that includes online social games, esports, and online money gaming.

Social and casual games will be allowed to operate under a more lenient regulatory regime, while esports tournaments can offer prize pools as long as they are pre-announced and structured as approved competitive events (with a defined prize structure and competition rules).

But MeitY has made clear that any format “involving direct user staking” can be reclassified as a banned money gaming category. This distinction gives OGAI considerable discretion to assess compliance on an individual case basis.

No point of return

The government has positioned PROGA as a “light-regulation” framework for non-monetised gaming, eliminating mandatory registration for most social gaming platforms unless they are flagged for inspection.

While PROGA sets federal rules and definitions for real-money gaming and its systems, the Act does not provide a clear legal classification of “online gambling”—a gap that still exists in the legislation.

According to India’s Constitution, betting and gambling are considered state subjects, so individual states have the primary right to make laws, regulate, or ban gambling activities within their borders.

India’s federal gambling laws are still based on the Public Gambling Act of 1867, which recognizes horse racing as the only federally permitted gambling activity.

The approval of the PROGA regime caused an immediate restructuring of India’s gaming industry, which in 2024 had a gross gaming revenue (GGR) of ₹31,900 crore (~€3.7 billion) and employed around 120,000 people.

Following the PROGA regime’s approval, Flutter Entertainment closed its Junglee Games business, shut its Mumbai office, and incurred an impairment charge of roughly $560 million.

MeitY has been asked to revisit the classification of specific real-money gaming systems, as stakeholders caution that overly wide definitions might harm India’s technology and digital industries.