India’s Online Gaming Law 2026: Key Provisions, Liabilities and Compliance Requirements
Introduction (by Editor): The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 and the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Rules, 2026 have significantly changed the legal framework governing online gaming in India. The law introduces strict regulation of online money games, expands liability to platforms, banks, advertisers and influencers, and establishes the Online Gaming Authority of India. This article explains the scope of the Act, classification of games, stakeholder liabilities, advertising restrictions, enforcement mechanisms and the practical compliance concerns arising under the new regulatory regime.
Current Legal Status of the Online Gaming Law in India
The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 (“the Act”) received the President’s assent and was notified on 22nd August 2025. Section 1(3) of the Act provides that it shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification, appoint and such was issued on 22nd April 2026[1], the Central Government has appointed 1st May 2026 as the date on which the provisions of the Act shall come into force. The Act is therefore fully operative.
On the same date, three companion notifications were issued. The Online Gaming Authority of India (“OGAI”) has been formally constituted.[2] Separately, the Central Government authorised police officers in charge of cyber cells in States and Union Territories and nodal cyber cell officers at the police station, district, or Commissionerate level, to investigate offences under the Act.[3] The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Rules, 2026 (“the Rules”) were also notified on 22nd April 2026 and have come into force on 1st May 2026.
The Act, the Rules and the OGAI are therefore simultaneously operational. The prohibition provisions under Chapter III of the Act, the criminal penalties under Chapter V of the Act and the institutional framework under the Rules are all in effect. There is effectively no formal compliance window for core prohibitions and penalties; stakeholders should treat the regime as immediately operational and adjust business models without delay.
Understanding the Scope of the Online Gaming Law
Defining and Distinguishing “Online Money Game”
The Act draws a clear line between three categories of online games: e-sports[4], online social games[5] and online money games[6]. As per the Act, an online money game is any online game[7] (irrespective of whether based on skill, chance, or both) played by a user by paying fees or depositing money or other stakes, in expectation of winning monetary or other enrichment in return. E-sports are expressly excluded from this definition.
The phrase “irrespective of whether based on skill, chance, or both” is a deliberate legislative departure from the skill-versus-chance debate that had long dominated Indian gaming jurisprudence. For the purposes of this Act, the traditional skill‑versus‑chance distinction is largely sidelined, if money is deposited with an expectation of monetary return, the game is an online money game. “other stakes”[8] under the Act is defined broadly to include virtual credits, coins and tokens purchased using real money, capturing in-game currency ecosystems funded by real-world deposits.
By contrast, an online social game involves no staking of money or other stakes, may allow subscription or one-time access fee payments that are not in the nature of a wager and is offered solely for entertainment or skill-development. An e-sport is recognised under the National Sports Governance Act, 2025, involves no betting or wagering and may include performance-based prize money and registration or participation fees covering administrative costs.
The Rules sets out the factors the OGAI must consider in determining whether a game is an online money game including the structure of the revenue model and critically, whether rewards or in-game assets can be transferred, redeemed, or monetised outside the game environment.[9] This specifically targets platforms where virtual winnings convert into real money even if the platform does not describe the activity as wagering.
Applicability of the Act to Foreign Gaming Platforms
Section 1(2) explicitly extends the Act to online money gaming services operated from outside India targeting Indian users. The Act empowers the government to block access to any such service on Indian computer resources,[10] and prohibits domestic banks and payment processors from facilitating transactions for online money gaming services.[11] Together, these provisions create a practical enforcement mechanism: even if a foreign platform is beyond the physical reach of Indian authorities, its access to Indian users and Indian payment infrastructure can be cut off.
Can Unlisted Games Still Be Illegal?
The Rules require the OGAI to publish a list of games determined to be online money games following a formal determination order.[12] This list is a transparency tool, not a safe harbour. The prohibition under Section 5 applies to any game meeting the definition of online money game, regardless of whether it appears on the OGAI’s published list. A platform cannot claim that its game is permissible simply because the OGAI has not yet issued a determination order in relation to it.
Legal Liability of Platforms, Banks and Advertisers
Liability of Online Gaming Platforms and Operators
The “online game service provider,”[13] defined under the Rules as any person who alone or jointly offers, operates, organises, manages, or makes available one or more online games, is the primary regulatory target. Offering online money games attracts criminal liability under the Act imprisonment up to three years and a fine up to one crore rupees, with mandatory minimum sentences for repeat offences.[14] Offences under Sections 5 and 7 are cognisable and non-bailable under the Act and investigation has been specifically authorised to be conducted by cyber cell officers at the State level.[15]
For online social games and e-sports, service providers must maintain functional grievance redressal mechanisms,[16] comply with data retention and payment facilitation directions issued by the OGAI,[17] and prominently display determination or registration details on their platforms[18]. Non-compliance with directions issued by the Central Government or the OGAI attracts a penalty up to ten lakh rupees and registration suspension or cancellation.[19]
Duties and Risks for Banks and Payment Gateways
In practice, enforcement will likely focus on wilful or reckless facilitation rather than inadvertent routing, but the drafting is broad and does not distinguish intent levels explicitly.[20] This is a deliberate expansion of liability beyond the gaming platform itself, designed to enforce compliance at the transaction layer, particularly effective against offshore platforms that may be beyond the reach of Indian enforcement agencies.
The Rules add a positive obligation: prior to facilitating any financial transaction even for registered online social games or e-sports, banks must verify the Certificate of Registration in the manner specified by the OGAI.[21] Upon receiving a direction from the OGAI identifying a game as an online money game, banks must without delay suspend or discontinue transactions related to that game and furnish any information or assistance the OGAI requires. This somewhat mirrors existing due diligence frameworks under anti-money laundering laws and is a probable response given that Indian payment infrastructure has been demonstrably used by non-compliant platforms to collect user deposits.
Advertising Restrictions Under the Online Gaming Law
The Act prohibits any person from making or being involved in any advertisement, across any media including electronic means, that directly or indirectly promotes or induces any person to play an online money game.[22] The term “advertisement” carries the meaning assigned under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, which is broad enough to cover digital, print and broadcast media. Violation attracts imprisonment up to two years and fines up to fifty lakh rupees, with enhanced penalties for repeat offences. The advertising prohibition reflects the Act’s recognition, expressed in its preamble, that aggressive marketing through celebrity and influencer endorsements has materially amplified the reach of online money gaming platforms among youth and vulnerable populations.
Legal Risks for Influencers, Streamers and Content Creators
The Act does not specifically define influencers, streamers, or content creators. However, the prohibition under the Act applies to any person who, through any media including electronic means, directly or indirectly promotes or induces participation in an online money game.[23] A streamer playing an online money game live, a creator posting a reel endorsing a platform, or an influencer sharing a referral code would each fall within this definition, regardless of whether the content is framed as entertainment rather than an explicit commercial endorsement.
The Act does not provide any knowledge-based carve-out for advertisers or content creators. The concerned provisions, Section 6, prohibits any person from making, causing to be made, aiding, abetting, inducing, or otherwise being involved in any advertisement that directly or indirectly promotes or induces participation in an online money game. The breadth of the phrase “directly or indirectly” and “otherwise being involved” leaves very little room for a defence grounded in unawareness. Read alongside the scheme of the Act, which imposes liability across platforms, payment intermediaries and advertisers alike, it is clear that the legislature has deliberately avoided knowledge-dependent exceptions. The general criminal law principle of ignorantia juris non excusat reinforces this further and authorities are unlikely to take a lenient view. While prosecutorial discretion may still consider intent and context, the statutory language does not build in a safe harbour for advertisers who fail to carry out basic due diligence.
The practical guidance for anyone in the advertising or content creation space is to treat due diligence as a non-negotiable pre-condition before associating with any gaming platform. This means not only verifying whether the game has been determined or registered by the OGAI as an online social game or e-sport and confirming it does not appear on the OGAI’s published list of online money games but also independently assessing the game against the definition of “online money game” under Act. If the game involves deposit of money or other stakes with an expectation of monetary return, the advertiser should be cautious irrespective of what the platform represents. A contractual representation from the platform regarding its regulatory status, backed by documentary evidence of the OGAI’s determination or registration, would be the minimum standard of care any advertiser or content creator should insist upon. Unless any subsequent regulatory guidance expressly creates a safe‑harbour, platforms should assume that the list is purely informational.
The article has been authored by Sindhuja Kashyap (Partner, King Stubb & Kasiva) and contributed by Srishti Rathore (Associate, King Stubb & Kasiva). The views expressed are personal.
[1] Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Notification S.O. 1994(E), The Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3(ii), No. 1923, dated April 22, 2026 (appointing May 1, 2026 as the date of commencement of the Act).
[2] Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Notification S.O. 1992(E), The Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3(ii), No. 1921, dated April 22, 2026 (constituting the Online Gaming Authority of India under Section 8 of the Act).
[3] Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Notification S.O. 1993(E), The Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3(ii), No. 1922, dated April 22, 2026 (authorising cyber cell officers to investigate offences under the Act).
[4] Section 2(1)(c) of the Act.
[5] Section 2(1)(i) of the Act.
[6] Section 2(1)(h) of the Act.
[7] Section 2(1)(f) of the Act.
[8] Section 2(1)(j) of the Act.
[9] Rules 9 of the Rules.
[10] Section 14 of the Act.
[11] Section 7 of the Act.
[12] Rule 26 of the Rules.
[13] Rule 2(1)(h) of the Rules.
[14] Section 9(1) of the Act.
[15] Section 15 of the Act.
[16] Rule 20 of the Rules.
[17] Rule 17 and 18 of the Rules.
[18] Rule 15 of the Rules.
[19] Section 12 of the Act.
[20] Section 7 of the Act.
[21] Rule 19 of the Rules.
[22] Section 6 of the Act.
[23] Section 6 of the Act.
