India’s Online Gaming Act 2025: Navigating a New Legal and Digital Frontier

In August 2025, India enacted the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 (hereinafter referred to as ‘The Act’), leading to a significant transformation in the management and advancement of online gaming industry. The legislation aims to regulate the rapidly expanding online gaming sector, curb risks associated with real-money gaming and simultaneously promote skill-based games and e-sports. For businesses, regulators, and legal practitioners, the Act represents both a challenge and an opportunity to navigate a new, structured framework.

The Context: Why India Needed This Act

Online gaming in India has grown exponentially over the past decade. Fantasy sports, mobile gaming apps, and real-money gaming platforms attracted millions of users and significant investment. However, this boom also brought serious social concerns, such as addiction, financial distress, and cases of exploitation particularly among younger users, which prompted calls for a robust regulation.^[1] Additionally, India’s patchwork of state-level laws had created inconsistencies in enforcement, licensing, and taxation. The Online Gaming Act 2025 seeks to address these gaps by establishing a unified national framework, balancing innovation with social protection.

Key Provisions of the Act

The Act lays down comprehensive provisions that govern online gaming operations in India. Section 2 of the Act forms the definitional backbone of the Act and is arguably its most consequential provision. It defines “online money game” as any game in which players deposit or stake money or other valuable consideration with the expectation of winning monetary or material rewards. Importantly, “e-sports” and “social games” are excluded from this category, signifying the legislature’s intent to differentiate between skill-based and chance-based gaming. At its core, it distinguishes sharply between games of chance and games of skill. All online games involving monetary stakes, including both skill-based platforms like fantasy sports and chance-based platforms like online poker or roulette, are prohibited. Operators found offering such services face penalties, including fines, license revocation, and potential imprisonment, depending on the severity of the violation. This prohibition has already led companies such as Games24x7 and Flutter’s Indian subsidiary Junglee to shut down or scale down operations.^[2] One may refer to the Act’s enforcement teeth which are Sections 9 to 11, prescribing stringent penalties for violations. Section 9 imposes imprisonment up to three years or a fine up to ₹1 crore on individuals or entities offering online money games. Section 10 extends liability to advertisers and promoters, while Section 11 introduces corporate criminal liability, holding persons “in charge” of the company accountable unless they prove due diligence.

To operationalize this framework, Section 8 of the Act also sets up an authority for online gaming, known as the National Online Gaming Commission (NOGC), which serves as the central regulatory body overseeing licensing, classification, compliance, and coordination with state authorities. The NOGC provides a standardized mechanism to monitor the sector, ensuring that platforms operate responsibly and within the legal framework. For legal advisors, the NOGC serves as the primary touchpoint for licensing applications, compliance audits, and regulatory guidance.^[3]

Among the enforcement provisions, Section 14 empowers the government to block access to platforms violating the Act, while Section 16 confers broad authority on authorised officers, allowing them to enter and search any location including digital spaces and to arrest individuals without a warrant if there is reasonable suspicion that they have committed or are about to commit an offence under the Act. Additionally, authorised officers are empowered to bypass security measures or access controls in order to enter digital networks, systems, or devices.

It is pertinent to note that while these powers resemble those under Section 69A of the IT Act, their replication in a new statute without additional safeguards amplifies privacy and due process concerns. Without a comprehensive data protection statute or enforceable privacy regime, such extensive powers pose a significant risk of intruding upon individual privacy particularly when personal devices, cloud services, or encrypted communications are accessed. The absence of precise criteria for determining what amounts to “reasonable suspicion” further increases the potential for misuse.

Finally, licensing, reporting, and audit obligations are central to compliance. All gaming platforms must obtain licenses to operate legally and demonstrate adherence to consumer protection, financial integrity, and responsible gaming standards.^[4] This ensures accountability and transparency throughout the sector.

In conclusion, while the Act marks a major shift toward regulating online gaming in India, its broad prohibitions and enforcement powers raise concerns over privacy, due process, and the future of legitimate skill-based gaming.

A step forward from the Information Technology Act, 2000

Compared to the IT Act of 2000, which took a broad, general approach to all intermediaries, the Act represents a considerable advancement. Online gambling platforms were given the same obligations as other digital intermediaries under the IT Act, primarily to exercise ‘due diligence’. The IT Rules, 2021, and subsequent updates made some progress by including requirements such as user verification and grievance redressal systems, but they lacked a distinct, dedicated framework for gaming. The Act, on the other hand, directly and openly targets online gaming intermediaries, establishing a considerably higher level of accountability and more specific legal obligations. The new Act imposes a far more proactive responsibility on online gambling intermediaries, moving beyond due diligence to proactive regulation. The IT Act's safe harbor provisions offered some protection to intermediaries who exercised due diligence under Section 79 of the Act.^[5] However, the new Act makes it illegal for an intermediary to support a prohibited online money game, and it is not subject to bail. A bare reading of Section 16, sub-section (1) of the Act, clearly reads, “any officer authorised under section 15 may enter any place, whether physical or digital, and search and arrest without warrant any person found therein who is reasonably suspected of having committed or of committing or of being about to commit any offence under this Act“. This implies that an intermediary may be arrested without a warrant^[6], which is a more severe penalty than what the IT Act allowed for offenses involving gaming. Furthermore, there was no explicit definition or distinction between the different kinds of online gaming in the IT Act. However, the new law establishes a clear legal boundary between e-sports, social gaming, and online gambling under Section 2 of the Act. This clarity enables targeted regulation and liability, ensuring that intermediaries understand what is permitted and what is not.

Therefore, the Act of 2025 essentially changes the regulatory paradigm from the IT Act's general, post-facto oversight to a pre-emptive, targeted regulatory system. It is a bold step to stop the unbridled expansion of a previously unregulated market by holding online gaming intermediaries directly accountable for the services and material they host.

Industry Impact

The Act’s implementation has already had tangible consequences. Companies that previously offered real-money gaming platforms have been forced to pivot or shut down operations. Sponsorship deals, such as the high-profile BCCI-Dream11 partnership, were terminated, illustrating the immediate effects on business operations. While these changes have resulted in workforce reductions and revenue losses for some companies, they also create new opportunities in e-sports, educational gaming, and skill-based platforms that comply with the Act.”

Legal Implications and Opportunities

For legal practitioners, the Online Gaming Act 2025 opens multiple avenues. Advisors are needed for regulatory compliance, licensing, and risk mitigation. Litigation may arise from enforcement actions, user disputes, or challenges to the Act’s constitutional validity. Contracts with partners, sponsors, and influencers must be reviewed in light of the new legal framework, and companies will require guidance on implementing consumer protection measures and ensuring data privacy. Legal expertise will also be crucial for helping companies pivot business models, explore new opportunities in e-sports, and navigate a sector that is undergoing rapid transformation.

Conclusion

The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 is a valuable step in shaping the future of India’s digital gaming landscape. By introducing a structured legal framework, the Act aims to strike a balance between innovation and responsibility. It recognizes the immense potential of online gaming and e-sports as growing industries, while also addressing concerns around user safety and data protection. This legislation marks a shift from unregulated growth to a more accountable ecosystem. For gaming companies, it means adapting to new rules but also gaining clarity and legitimacy in a market that has long operated in grey areas. For consumers, it promises greater protection and a safer, more transparent gaming environment.

Vrinda Harmilapi

Associate

vrinda.harmilapi@iprattorneys.com

Lawanya Khanna

Associate

lawanya.khanna@iprattorneys.com

[1] Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025

[2] Arijit Barman, Games24x7 to Lay Off 70% Employees, Econ. Times (Sept. 10, 2025, 10:21 AM), https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/startups/games24x7-to-lay-off-70 employees/articleshow/123811735.cms.

[3] Vatsal Gaur, Regulating Online Gaming in India: A Legal Perspective on a New Era of Protection and Policy, India’s New Online Gaming Law: Key Legal Takeaways

[4] Finlaw Consultancy, https://finlaw.in/blog/how-can-i-get-an-online-gaming-license-in-india#:~:text=An%20online%20gaming%20license%20is%20not%20optional%E2%80%94it%E2%80%99s%20a,monetary%20fines%2C%20or%20even%20imprisonment%20under%20gambling%20laws.

[5] Section 79 of the Information Technology Act, 2000

[6] Section 16 of The Promotion And Regulation Of Online Gaming Act, 2025