Certain online social games in India could be required to register with the government based on their country of origin — particularly those linked to China, Pakistan, or Turkey — an IT ministry official told HT as the government notified the final rules under the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming (PROG) Act, 2025 on Wednesday.
“We are not making the determination and registration of online social games mandatory. However, the provision allows us to act if a game originates from countries like Pakistan, China or Turkey, jurisdictions that may not align with India’s geopolitical or foreign policy interests,” the official said.
Registration is mandatory only for e-sports. An online money game cannot be registered as an e-sport. The rules and the Act — which bans all online money games — come into force on May 1.
The notification follows six months after the IT Ministry published draft rules in October 2025. The Act received Presidential assent in August 2025. The government had initially held that rules were unnecessary before revising that position.
At Wednesday’s media briefing, IT Secretary S Krishnan was asked how the government would prevent users from accessing banned platforms through VPNs and offshore apps. He said the government would block such apps and websites.
The rules, in addition to setting up an authority to oversee the sector, also vest the government with a parallel enforcement mechanism through the banking system. Financial intermediaries — including banks — must verify registration certificates before processing payments for online social games and e-sports. Where the Authority determines a game to be an online money game, banks must suspend or discontinue related transactions without delay on Authority direction, with no grace period.
On how the central law would sit alongside state laws such as Tamil Nadu’s, Krishnan said the two frameworks address different issues. “They are more focused on whether a game is one of skill or chance. We are nowhere on that. That remains within the remit of state policy. Betting and gambling are within the powers of the state.”
Determination and registration
The final rules introduce a determination test to classify whether a game is an online money game, but do not apply it automatically. Krishnan described the framework as “light-touch.” Determination is triggered in three cases: when the Authority acts suo motu; when a provider seeks e-sport status for a game; or when the government mandates it for certain categories of social games by notification, having regard to the nature and volume of financial transactions permitted.
Separately, the government may require registration of a game or category by notification, on factors including risk of harm to users, scale of participation, volume and value of financial transactions, and the country of origin or headquarters of the service provider — the provision that could bring games from select jurisdictions within the scope of mandatory registration. No such notification has been issued yet.
The final rules also sharpen the determination test, adding factors such as whether users have an expectation of winning, how payments are characterised — participation fee or stake — and whether in-game assets can be monetised or converted into real-world value.
Providers apply digitally; the Authority undertakes determination before granting approval. For e-sports, registration must be completed within 90 days, subject to recognition under the National Sports Governance Act, 2025.
Two structural changes from the draft are notable. Users dissatisfied with a platform’s grievance resolution could previously escalate to the Grievance Appellate Committee under the IT Rules, 2021; the final rules remove this, allowing users to approach the Authority directly. Separately, draft provisions giving the Authority civil court-equivalent powers have been dropped, though it retains powers to require data retention — including gameplay data and metadata — and mandate periodic compliance reporting.
Authority composition
Defined roles for the Ministries of Information and Broadcasting and Sports in promoting online social games and e-sports have been removed. Krishnan said they provided “no real value addition.”
The Authority’s composition has also changed: joint secretaries from the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Department of Legal Affairs have been added, while two director-level positions from the draft have been dropped. The chairperson remains the additional secretary, MeitY, with joint secretaries from Finance, Information and Broadcasting, and Youth Affairs and Sports as other members.
The draft’s “material change” concept — which allowed re-evaluation of classified or registered games if their features or revenue model changed — has also been removed. Krishnan said this was to avoid disputes and discretionary interpretation. Providers must now inform the Authority before making any changes affecting payment mechanisms.
Other additions include a detailed definition of “user safety features” — covering age verification, parental controls, time limits, and grievance systems — and confidentiality protections for information submitted to the Authority.
The rules were finalised after inter-ministerial consultations and vetting by the Department of Legal Affairs. The government received feedback from over 2,500 stakeholders — including industry bodies, companies, academics, think tanks, and law firms — with several calling for withdrawal of the Act. Key concerns raised included the broad definition of online social games, the Authority’s composition and governance, and the game classification framework.
