India activates RMG ban from 1 May

• MeitY notified the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Rules, 2026 on 22 April, with the Act and its enforcement framework taking effect on 1 May 2026.
• The Online Gaming Authority of India launches on the same date as the sector’s central regulator, empowered to classify games, investigate violations and direct banks to block prohibited transactions.
• Constitutional challenges to PROGA remain active at India’s Supreme Court, with no interim relief granted to operators since the Act passed in August 2025.

India’s federal ban on real-money gaming enters live enforcement this week. MeitY notified the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Rules, 2026 on 22 April, with both the Act and the Rules set to come into force on 1 May 2026.

The notification converts eight months of legal uncertainty into active federal enforcement for the first time since PROGA received Presidential assent.

Scope of the prohibition

The mandate, authorised by the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on 22 August 2025, imposes an outright federal ban on all apps, devices and services that involve real-money gaming mechanisms and transactions.

Online money gaming is defined under the framework as “an online game, played by a user by paying fees, depositing money or other stakes in expectation of winning monetary gains or other enrichment”, irrespective of whether “the game is based on skill, chance, or both.”

That definition dissolves the longstanding legal distinction between skill-based and chance-based games that had historically protected fantasy sports and rummy operators.

The law also extends to the promotion and advertisement of such services, with violations carrying penalties of up to three years’ imprisonment and fines reaching ₹1 crore (approximately €95,000).

Banks and payment intermediaries must verify that a game or entity holds a valid registration certificate before granting access to banking facilities. Once OGAI determines that a service is prohibited, banks must suspend or restrict the entity’s financial transactions and supply all relevant information to the authority.

OGAI’s structure and powers

The Online Gaming Authority of India (OGAI) will function as an attached office of MeitY, headquartered in Delhi. It will be chaired by the Additional Secretary at MeitY, with joint secretary-level representation from the Ministries of Home Affairs, Information and Broadcasting, Youth Affairs and Sports, and the Departments of Financial Services and Legal Affairs.

The authority will maintain and publish the list of prohibited online money games, investigate complaints, issue directions and codes of practice, hear appeals against grievance decisions from service providers, and coordinate with financial institutions and law enforcement agencies.

Games intended to be offered as esports must be registered with OGAI. Most online games do not require determination or registration by default, unless the Central Government notifies specific categories, the game is to be offered as an esport, or the authority orders a review.

IT Secretary S. Krishnan confirmed the intent at a PROGA press briefing:

“Most games which aren’t money games can function without any obligation, such as registration. That is optional.”

Enforcement proceedings are to be conducted digitally, with complaints to be concluded within 90 days. Penalties will be proportionate, with the authority required to weigh factors including gain from non-compliance, loss caused to users, gravity of the violation and mitigation efforts.

Industry fallout

The enforcement date arrives against a backdrop of significant financial damage across the sector. Flutter Entertainment recorded a non-cash impairment charge of $556 million linked to the closure of its Junglee Games subsidiary, contributing to a net loss of $789 million in the third quarter of 2025.

Peter Jackson, Chief Executive Officer at Flutter Entertainment, said:

“I am extremely disappointed with the sudden changes to the regulatory landscape in India. Over the last four years Junglee has invested significantly in its local market, building a workforce of over 1,100 employees to deliver innovative skill-based gaming products to Indian customers.”

Nazara Technologies recorded an impairment of $103.2 million on its investment in Moonshine Technologies, parent of PokerBaazi, and Clairvest Group wrote off its investment in Head Digital Works, operator of A23 Rummy. RMG platforms reportedly recorded aggregate asset write-downs of more than $840 million in the three months following the ban, with an estimated 7,000 workers losing their jobs.

The risk of offshore displacement is measurable. A survey cited by the Economic Times found that before the ban, only 3.4% of users spent more than two hours on offshore platforms. After the ban, that figure grew to 44%.

Legal challenges to PROGA have not produced interim relief. The Supreme Court has directed the Union government to file a detailed response to petitions challenging the Act’s constitutional validity, with substantive hearings yet to be scheduled.

Critics including Vidushpat Singhania, Managing Partner at Krida Legal, argue that a blanket prohibition is unlikely to satisfy the proportionality test under Article 19(6) of the Constitution, given the existence of less intrusive alternatives such as licensing, age-gating and harm-prevention norms used in other jurisdictions.