The Centre on Wednesday notified the rules under the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, introducing a “light-touch” approach where most online social games will not require mandatory registration or classification.
Through a Gazette notification, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) said the Act will come into force from May 1, and it has also outlined formation of Online Gaming Authority of India that will be chaired by Additional Secretary, MeitY or such other officer not below the rank of Joint Secretary nominated by the Secretary, MeitY.
Its members will consist of Joint Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs or an ex officio; Joint Secretary, Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance; Joint Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting; Joint Secretary, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports; and Joint Secretary, Department of Legal Affairs, Ministry of Law and Justice.
The Authority will have explicit powers such as data retention and periodic compliance reporting, apart from issuing directions or orders, guidelines or codes of practice in relation to offering online social games and e-sports, including procedure for registration and its suspension, cancellation or surrender, and grievance redressal mechanism.
Speaking to mediapersons, S Krishnan, Secretary, MeitY said most online games — if they are not real money games, which are already and explicitly banned under the provisions — will not mandatorily need to be registered or determined. Oversight will be triggered only in certain circumstances, he said adding that e-sports, however, will require mandatory registration as specified in the parent Act.
Regulation-light
“We wanted to, as far as possible, keep this entire thing as regulation-light as possible. Most games, which are not money games, should be able to operate with no obligation to necessarily either be determined or registered. So that entire process is optional,” Krishnan said.
He said the government is not obligating anybody to apply to determine whether it is an online money game, or online social game, or Esports.
“That said, such ‘determination’ will be triggered in three situations. The first trigger is where it is done suo-moto by the authority, and the second is where it involves e-sports. And third, the Central government may notify any specific category of social games, which, as of now, we have not notified anything specifically,” he explained.
User safety features
He said the rules have also explicitly defined user safety features and the Act itself bans online real money gaming, while promoting e-sports and online social gaming in India.
On August 19, 2025 Cabinet had approved the Online Gaming Bill to be introduced, and on the next day itself, the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025 was introduced and passed in Lok Sabha, and on August 21, it was also introduced and passed in Rajya Sabha.
On August 22, 2025 the Bill received assent by the President making it the Act. MeitY had invited feedback on these rules in October 2025 and received 2,500 inputs from stakeholders.
Published on April 22, 2026