The ministry of electronics and IT (Meity) on Wednesday notified the online gaming rules aimed at safeguarding people from the menace of online money games, which will be effective from May 1 and will also facilitate the creation of an online gaming authority.
The government said in a press statement, “The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming (PROG) Act, 2025 was enacted by Parliament in August 2025 as a landmark legislation to safeguard citizens from the growing menace of online money games while creating an enabling framework for e-sports and online social games.”
The online gaming authority will maintain and publish the list of online money games, inquire into complaints, issue directions, orders and codes of practice and entertain appeals against decisions of service providers on grievances.
It will also coordinate with financial institutions and law enforcement agencies for effective enforcement.
The authority will be chaired by the additional secretary, Meity, and will also consist of the joint secretaries from home affairs, finance, information and broadcasting, youth affairs and sports, and legal affairs as members.
“Most online games — if they are not real money games, which are already and explicitly banned under the provisions — will not mandatorily need to be registered or determined, IT secretary S Krishnan told PTI.
Oversight will be triggered only in certain circumstances, the ministry added.
