New Delhi, August 2025 — India’s Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 has come into force, reshaping the future of online gaming. Here are the key questions and answers.

❓ What is the Online Gaming Act, 2025?

It is a new central law that regulates online gaming in India. It allows legitimate skill-based games and esports under licenses, while banning real-money chance-based games like betting, rummy, and poker.

❓ Who will regulate online games now?

The Act sets up the National Online Gaming Commission (NOGC).

• It will classify games as “skill” or “chance.”
• It will issue and revoke licenses.
• It will supervise compliance across states.

States may form their own commissions, but all must work under the NOGC’s framework.

❓ Which games are allowed?

• Permitted (with license): Esports, competitive skill games, some fantasy sports (only if certified as skill-based).
• Banned: Poker, rummy, lotteries, betting apps, and any game deemed chance-driven.

❓ What protections are in place for players?

Licensed platforms must:

• Verify player identity and age (no minors).
• Provide deposit caps, playtime alerts, and self-exclusion tools.
• Keep player funds in segregated, refundable accounts.
• Display responsible gaming warnings in ads.

❓ How will disputes be handled?

The law establishes an Online Gaming Appellate Tribunal:

• Players can file complaints against platforms.
• Tribunal rulings can be appealed directly to the Supreme Court of India.

❓ What are the penalties for violations?

• Running unlicensed games → fines + imprisonment.
• Misleading or aggressive advertising → heavy penalties.
• Manipulating outcomes or committing fraud → criminal charges under IT laws and IPC.

❓ What happens to Dream11, MPL, WinZO and others?

• If the NOGC certifies their contests as skill-based, they can continue after getting licenses.
• If classified as chance-based gambling, they must shut down in India.
• Their ad-heavy sponsorship of cricket and influencer campaigns is expected to vanish or shrink drastically.

❓ How does this affect influencers and cricketers?

• For years, apps paid crores to celebrities and YouTubers to promote contests they themselves never played.
• With the ban, this endorsement pipeline dries up. Mid-level cricketers and influencers, especially, lose a major revenue stream.

❓ Will esports and gaming still grow?

Yes. The Act recognizes esports as a legitimate sector. The government will support:

• Esports infrastructure development.
• Skill development programs.
• Mental health and addiction research related to gaming.

❓ Why did the government do this?

To protect consumers from gambling-like losses, especially young people.
Fantasy and betting apps thrived by projecting themselves as skill games, but most users lost money while a small minority won. The Act closes this loophole.

✅ Bottom Line

The Online Gaming Act, 2025 redraws the industry:

• Skill-based esports → promoted and licensed.
• Money-based gambling → banned outright.
• Cricketers, influencers, and broadcasters → lose a ₹5,000 crore sponsorship and ad economy.

It’s the end of an era where “Apni team banao, jeeto crore” ads dominated cricket — and the start of regulated, safer online gaming in India.