The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 is an Act of the Parliament of India that establishes a comprehensive, national-level legal framework for the online gaming sector. The Act was passed by Parliament on August 21, 2025, and signed into law by President Droupadi Murmu on August 22, 2025, becoming Act No. 32 of 2025. It was created to address the problems of addiction, financial distress, and social harm caused by unregulated online money games, while simultaneously promoting the growth of the digital gaming industry.
The core mechanism of the Act is the prohibition of online money games and the promotion of other categories like e-sports and online social games. An online money game is defined as any online game where a user pays money or other stakes with the expectation of monetary or other enrichment, regardless of whether the game is based on skill, chance, or both. Section 5 of the Act explicitly prohibits the offering, operation, or advertisement of online money games and related services. Violations of this prohibition can lead to imprisonment of up to three years and a fine of up to ₹1 crore.
The Act connects to the existing regulatory structure by empowering the Central Government to establish a new regulator, the Online Gaming Authority of India (OGAI), under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). This Authority is tasked with classifying games, handling user complaints, and coordinating with banks and law enforcement. Furthermore, the Act leverages the Information Technology Act, 2000, specifically Section 69A, to block access to unlawful online money gaming platforms. The Act also promotes e-sports as a legitimate competitive sport, with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports preparing guidelines for tournaments and development. This legislation replaced the previously fragmented state-level gaming laws and the earlier regulatory approach under the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, which had been amended in April 2023 to introduce self-regulatory bodies (SRBs). The new Act shifts the focus from the SRB model to a complete ban on real-money gaming while retaining the promotion of e-sports and social gaming.