Overview

• IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the rules to implement the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act are finalised after extensive talks with companies and banks, with one more meeting before promulgation.
• The law prohibits all online games played for stakes regardless of skill or chance, makes violations cognisable and non-bailable, and sets penalties up to three years’ jail and ₹1 crore for providers and up to two years and ₹50 lakh for advertising.
• The Supreme Court has consolidated multiple high-court challenges to the Act and will examine its constitutionality.
• Major platforms including Dream11, Gameskraft, Games24x7, MPL and Baazi have suspended real‑money offerings, while the government works with banks on processes to return user balances.
• Rules under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act are ready and expected to be notified by September 28, creating parallel compliance timelines for affected firms.