Overview

• President Droupadi Murmu signed the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, which criminalises offering money games, bans advertising and payment facilitation, and sets penalties up to three years in jail and fines up to ₹1 crore.
• Major operators including Dream Sports/Dream11, MPL, Zupee, Gameskraft (RummyCulture), PokerBaazi, My11Circle/RummyCircle, WinZO and Probo have stopped paid contests and deposits while assuring users that balances can be withdrawn.
• The Act applies regardless of skill or chance distinctions, a shift that undercuts earlier legal arguments used by fantasy sports, rummy and poker platforms.
• The law also recognises eSports and social or educational games and envisages a national authority to categorise and register titles, with banks and financial intermediaries instructed to block transactions for money games.
• The BCCI said it will comply with the law and review sponsorships from gaming firms, while industry groups prepare potential Supreme Court challenges and companies explore pivots beyond real‑money formats.