The Indian government will announce rules related to online gaming within a span of 15 days, declared Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw at an interview with Moneycontrol in Davos World Economic Forum. There were extensive consultations related to these rules with industry sectors and law enforcement.
The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act (PROGA), which came into effect in August 2025, has completely barred all forms of money games conducted online, whether by chance, skill, or a combination of both, to prevent various social evils such as gambling, loss of funds, etc. The legislation, which received presidential assent quickly, led to the collapse of the multi-billion-dollar real money gaming industry based in India, which has an estimated value of about 3.5 billion US dollars. Draft rules have been outlined for the Online Gaming Authority of India (OGAI) to be used for the registration of games, grievances, etc.
These rules not only operationalize PROGA’s substantive provisions for e-sports in terms of training academies and incentives, alongside safe social and educational games. It also imposes severe penalties of three years of imprisonment along with a ₹1 crore fine for operators, and of two years along with a ₹50 lakh fine for advertisers. Banks are also prohibited from assisting in prohibited transactions.
The industry, now concentrating its efforts in the area of esports following a government-imposed national betting ban, recently saw the government shut down 242 illicit betting websites.
As the Indian Government is close to finalizing the online gaming rules, every Indian gamer is eagerly waiting to see what’s coming. Keep following TalkEsport for the latest news and updates on this matter.