The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025

Preamble

THE PROMOTION AND REGULATION OF ONLINE GAMING ACT, 2025

ACT NO. 32 OF 2025

[22nd August, 2025.]

An Act to promote and regulate the online gaming sector including e-sports, educational games and social gaming; to provide for the appointment of an Authority for coordinated policy support, strategic development and regulatory oversight of the sector; to prohibit the offering, operation, facilitation, advertisement, ^*[promotion] and participation in online money games through any computer resource, mobile device or the internet, particularly where such activities operate across State borders or from foreign jurisdictions; to protect individuals, especially youth and vulnerable populations, from the adverse social, economic, psychological and privacy-related impacts of such games; to ensure the responsible use of digital technologies; to maintain public order and protect public health; to safeguard the integrity of financial systems and the security and sovereignty of the State; to establish a uniform national-level legal framework in the public interest; and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

WHEREAS the online gaming sector has rapidly evolved into one of the most dynamic and fastest-growing segments of the digital and creative economy, offering significant opportunities for innovation, cognitive development, employment generation, technological advancement and global competitiveness;

AND WHEREAS India possesses a large and growing pool of young professionals with technological capabilities and rapidly expanding domestic market, which together enable the country to assume a leadership role in the global online gaming value chain;

AND WHEREAS the online gaming ecosystem comprises diverse segments, including e-sports, casual and social games, educational games and online money games, and is currently operating in the absence of a dedicated institutional and legal framework necessary for strategic coordination, capacity building, common infrastructure, research and responsible innovation;

AND WHEREAS the lack of a coherent and enabling legal framework has hindered the sector’s structured development and the promotion of responsible gaming practices, requiring urgent policy intervention and support mechanisms;

AND WHEREAS the parallel proliferation of online money games accessible through mobile phones, computers and the internet, and offering monetary returns against user deposits has led to serious social, financial, psychological and public health harms, particularly among young individuals and economically disadvantaged groups;

AND WHEREAS such games often use manipulative design features, addictive algorithms, bots and undisclosed agents, undermining fairness, transparency and user protection, while promoting compulsive behaviour leading to financial ruin;

AND WHEREAS platforms offering online gaming system are often aggressively marketed through pervasive advertising campaigns, including celebrity and influencer endorsements, thereby amplifying their reach and impact especially among the youth and vulnerable groups;

AND WHEREAS the unchecked expansion of online money gaming services has been linked to unlawful activities including financial fraud, money-laundering, tax evasion, and in some cases, the financing of terrorism, thereby posing threats to national security, public order and the integrity of the State;

AND WHEREAS considering the deleterious and negative impact of online money games on the individuals, families, society and the nation and given the technical aspects including the very nature of the electronic medium used for online money games, the algorithms applied and the national and transnational networks involved therein;

AND WHEREAS many such services operate from offshore jurisdictions, bypassing domestic laws, undermining state-level regulations, and presenting significant enforcement challenges in terms of extra-territorial jurisdiction and inter-State inconsistencies;

AND WHEREAS it is expedient in the public interest for the Union Government to assume legislative competence over the online gaming sector to ensure the creation of a secure, structured and innovation-friendly digital environment, while addressing the associated risks to public health, consumer safety, public morality and financial sovereignty;

AND WHEREAS it is necessary to clearly delineate and categorise the various forms of online games and to provide a tailored legal framework to govern each sub-sector of the industry appropriately.

BE it enacted by Parliament in the Seventy-sixth Year of the Republic of India as follows:---

What this Act covers

Sections

Type to filter. 20 sections.

1. 1Short title, extent and commencement
2. 2Definitions
3. 3Recognition and promotion of e-sport
4. 4Recognition and development of online social games
5. 5Prohibition of online money game and online money gaming service
6. 6Prohibition of advertisement related to online money game
7. 7Prohibition of transfer of fund
8. 8Establishment of an Authority
9. 9Penalty for contravention
10. 10Cognizance of offences
11. 11Offences by companies
12. 12Non-compliance by any other person
13. 13Compliance with direction of Central Government
14. 14Blocking of online money gaming service
15. 15Power to investigate offences
16. 16Search and seizure of property
17. 17Protection of action taken in good faith
18. 18Act not in derogation of any other law
19. 19Power of Central Government to make rules
20. 20Power to remove difficulties

Legislative history

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