Offering, aiding or abetting an online money game carries imprisonment up to three years and fines up to ₹1 crore. Failing to comply with regulatory directions carries penalties up to ₹10 lakh, with enhanced consequences for repeat violations. Enforcement includes warrantless search and seizure on reasonable suspicion and website blocking under the IT Act, 2000.
The headline numbers
- Offering an online money game, imprisonment up to three years and fine up to ₹1 crore.
- Non-compliance with regulatory directions, up to ₹10 lakh.
- Repeat violations, enhanced consequences.
Editorial explainer, not legal advice. The law here is contested and moving, constitutional challenges are pending before the Supreme Court. For decisions about your own position, consult a qualified Indian lawyer.
The offences are broader than "running a betting site"
The prohibition covers offering a money game, aiding, abetting, inducing or otherwise engaging in the offering of one, facilitating payment transactions for it, and advertising or promoting it. The abetment and advertising limbs are what extend exposure beyond operators to the surrounding ecosystem.
Published analysis flags influencers, advertisers, referral codes and affiliate links as potentially within the advertising prohibition. If you publish, that is the limb to understand, see what publishers and affiliates need to know.
Enforcement powers
Two features make this materially stronger than the older state regime:
- Warrantless search and seizure. Authorised officers may act on reasonable suspicion without prior judicial authorisation.
- Blocking. The Centre can invoke powers under the Information Technology Act, 2000 to have services blocked, which is how offshore operators are reached in practice.
What about individual players?
The Act's machinery is aimed at the supply side, operators, facilitators, promoters, rather than constructed around punishing individual participants. That is a description of where enforcement is directed, not an assurance about any individual's position, which depends on facts a lawyer needs to assess.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Can an ordinary player go to jail?
The offences are framed around offering, facilitating, abetting and advertising money games. Individual liability depends on specific facts, take advice rather than relying on a general article.
Do the penalties apply to foreign operators?
The Act covers offshore operators offering into India, and blocking powers under the IT Act are available.
What is the ₹10 lakh penalty for?
Non-compliance with directions issued under the regulatory framework, as distinct from the core prohibition offence.
Sources
Every legal claim on this page traces to the material below. Primary sources are the statute and government notifications themselves.
- The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 (Act No. 32 of 2025) — full text(opens in a new tab) — Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of IndiaPrimary source
- Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 — official announcement(opens in a new tab) — Press Information Bureau, Government of IndiaPrimary source
- Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Rules, 2026(opens in a new tab) — Press Information Bureau, Government of IndiaPrimary source
- The Online Gaming Act, 2025 — redrawing India's online gaming landscape(opens in a new tab) — Trilegal
