Game On? Examining the key features of India's new online gaming law

Over 20 and 21 August 2025, the Parliament of India passed the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, banning online money games in India.

On 22 August 2025, the bill received presidential assent, was published in the Official Gazette, and became law – the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 (the OGA). It is unclear when the OGA will go into effect.

This development comes over two years after the Indian government amended the Information Technology (Intermediaries Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (the IT Rules).

The April 2023 amendment added several substantive online gaming provisions to the IT Rules (e.g., diligence requirements for intermediaries enabling access to online games and online real money games) – none of which ever came into force. Now, we have a dedicated Central statute governing online games, with significant room for fresh rule-making.

We delve into the key features in our update.