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India's online gaming law: registration reaches only e-sports and categories the Centre notifies, and in late June there was no portal to file one

The Act and the 2026 Rules took effect on 1 May 2026 [12][13]. Registration applies only where the government mandates it or a game is offered as an e-sport [14]. MediaNama and ThePrint reported on 25 June that the registration form existed with no portal to file it [28][29].

By AVGC-XR Desk ·

India's online gaming law came into force on 1 May 2026 [12]. Registration under it reaches only games the central government mandates and games intended to be offered as an e-sport, according to MeitY's release on the notified Rules [14].

The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 received presidential assent on 22 August 2025, with corrigenda on 28 August [1]. Section 1(3) left commencement to a government notification [2]. That notification came on 22 April 2026, when MeitY notified the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Rules, 2026 [19]. The Rules took effect on 1 May 2026 [13]. The Act came into force the same day [12].

What is banned

Section 5 prohibits offering, aiding or engaging in online money games and online money gaming services [4]. The definition in section 2(g) does not turn on the skill-versus-chance distinction: an online money game is one played "irrespective of whether such game is based on skill, chance, or both" for fees, deposits or stakes "in expectation of winning which entails monetary and other enrichment" [3]. Section 6 prohibits advertisements that directly or indirectly promote such games [5]. Section 7 prevents banks and financial institutions from facilitating fund transfers for them [6].

The penalties in section 9 are criminal: offering an online money gaming service carries imprisonment of up to three years, a fine of up to ₹1 crore, or both; advertising carries up to two years or ₹50 lakh or both; engaging in the fund transactions carries the same range as offering [7]. A second or subsequent offence under sections 5 or 7 carries imprisonment of not less than three years, extending to five, and a fine of not less than ₹1 crore extending to ₹2 crore [8]. Separately, section 12(1) provides for a penalty extending to ₹10 lakh, or suspension or cancellation of registration, for non-compliance with the Authority's directions [9].

Who has to register

MeitY's release on the notified Rules states that registration applies only where the government mandates it or where a game is intended to be offered as an e-sport, and that a successful applicant receives a digital certificate valid for up to ten years [14].

That is a change from the draft. In MeitY's October 2025 draft rules, registration of online social games was voluntary under rule 4(3), while e-sports registration was mandatory under rule 12(2) [24]. MediaNama reported on 24 April that the notified version removed the blanket exemption for social games, replacing it with registration triggered by central government notification on stated factors — risk of harm to users, including children, and the scale of financial transactions [25]. MediaNama also recorded that certificate validity rose to ten years from the draft's five-year cap [26], and that the Grievance Appellate Committee was dropped in favour of escalation from the provider to the Authority and then to the MeitY Secretary as appellate authority [27].

The Online Gaming Authority of India is an attached office of MeitY, chaired by the ministry's Additional Secretary, with joint-secretary-level members from Home Affairs, Finance, Information and Broadcasting, Youth Affairs and Sports, and Law [15]. Section 8(2) empowers it to determine whether a particular online game is an online money game, and to recognise, categorise and register online games [11]. Determination occurs within 90 days; a user may appeal to the Authority within 30 days, and the Authority has a further 30 days to respond [16].

The e-sports route has two locks

For a studio or tournament operator seeking e-sports status, registration with the Authority is the second step: section 2(c) defines e-sports to include a game duly recognised under the National Sports Governance Act, 2025 and registered with the Authority [10]. That recognition runs through a separate statute and a separate ministry: the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports issued the notification bringing select provisions of that Act into force from 1 January 2026 [31]. Khaitan and Co's note on the Rules records that e-sports can be registered only where that recognition exists [23]. An online money game cannot become a recognised e-sport at all [18].

The filing mechanism lagged the deadline. On 25 June, MediaNama reported that the registration application form had been published while no functioning submission portal existed, and that the demo site at devogai.negd.in returned a 403 error [28]. ThePrint reported the same day that the form was available but there was no portal to file it, quoting an unnamed MeitY official saying the portal would be up soon, without a timeline [29]. ThePrint also reported that the form does not clarify whether the applicant is the game title or the tournament organiser, and contains no reference to National Sports Governance Act recognition [30]. That was the position at the end of June [28][29].

A clearance is not a precedent

One feature of the Rules bears directly on product and legal planning: Khaitan and Co record that a determination is specific to the particular game and to the provider offering it, and does not extend to the same or similar games offered by other providers [20]. A competitor's clearance for a near-identical title carries no weight for anyone else [20]. Nor does prior operation: the same note records that the Rules contain no grandfathering or transition period, and that businesses must reassess games that even partially intersect with an online money game [22].

What applies regardless of registration

MeitY's release states that game service providers must establish grievance redressal mechanisms, implement user safety features including age verification and parental controls, and prominently display registration details [17]. Khaitan and Co record a further duty on e-sports operators: traffic data, metadata and related information must be retained on computer resources located in India [21].

What the record does not settle

Four questions are open on the documents cited here. Whether the Rules set any registration trigger for games that are neither offered as an e-sport nor in a notified category [14][25]. Whether the registration portal has opened since the end of June [28][29]. Which Indian e-sports body, if any, holds recognition under the National Sports Governance Act, and therefore whether the e-sports route is usable in practice [10][23]. And whether the central government has yet notified any category of online social game for mandatory registration [14][25].

Sources

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