Registering a game as an e-sport in India requires recognition under the National Sports Governance Act and registration with the gaming authority

What the e-sports route requires

India's online gaming law defines e-sports to include an online game that is duly recognised under the National Sports Governance Act, 2025 and registered with the Online Gaming Authority of India ^[1]. Registration under the 2026 Rules applies only where the central government mandates it or where a game is intended to be offered as an e-sport, and a successful applicant receives a digital certificate valid for up to ten years ^[2]. An online money game cannot become a recognised e-sport ^[3]. The Rules came into force on 1 May 2026 ^[4].

Who grants the recognition

E-sports has been business allocated to the Department of Sports since a Cabinet Secretariat notification of 23 December 2022, which inserted e-Sports as part of multi-sports events under that department and matters relating to online gaming under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology ^[5]. The National Sports Board has the power to grant Board recognition to any sports organisation as a National Sports Body ^[6]. No organisation can be recognised unless it is a registered society, a not-for-profit company incorporated under section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013, or a trust, and complies with such other criteria and conditions as may be specified by regulations ^[7]. The Act defines a designated sport as any sport discipline the central government specifies by notification for a region, a state or the whole of India, and specifies no discipline itself ^[8].

The Act does not name e-sports

The terms e-sports, esports and electronic sports do not appear anywhere in the text of the Act as published by the India Code ^[9]. Several of the Act's provisions took effect on 31 December 2025 ^[10].

The Board that grants recognition

The National Sports Governance (National Sports Board) Rules, 2026 make the Board the central authority for granting recognition to National Sports Bodies, and provide for a Chairperson and two Members appointed by the central government from a panel recommended by a Search-cum-Selection Committee ^[11]. The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports announced those Rules, alongside the National Sports Tribunal Rules, on 26 May 2026 ^[12]. The ministry invited applications for the Chairperson and the two Members on 23 June 2026, with a closing date of 22 July 2026 ^[13].

What is already built

The National Sports Governance (National Sports Bodies) Rules, 2026, released on 12 January 2026, set the composition of a National Sports Body's general body and executive committee, its election procedure and its disqualification criteria, and require each National Sports Body to amend its bye-laws to conform to the Act within six months ^[14].

What the record does not settle

Whether the central government has specified any e-sports discipline as a designated sport is not established by the Act, which leaves the designation to notification and names none ^[8]. Whether the National Sports Board has been constituted, and whether any sports organisation holds its recognition, is not recorded in the release inviting applications for its three posts ^[13]. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology told the Central Information Commission on 8 September 2026 that no online game has been granted registration under the Online Gaming Authority of India ^[15].