## Central Gaming Law The Online Gaming Act, read with the Online Gaming Rules, establishes a central regulatory framework for online gaming in India. Under the Online Gaming Act, the Authority is empowered to determine whether a particular online game constitutes an online money game. In making such determination, the Authority considers factors including (i) whether the game involves payment of fees, deposit of money or other stakes; (ii) whether players have an expectation of winning money or other enrichment; (iii) the nature and purpose of payments, including participation fees, subscription or access fees, bets or wagers; (iv) the structure and operation of the revenue model; and (v) whether in-game rewards, benefits or assets may be transferred, redeemed or monetised outside the game environment. Under the Online Gaming Rules, the Authority is required to provide the concerned online game service provider a reasonable opportunity to respond in *suo motu* determination proceedings and, as far as practicable, complete the determination within 90 days. Where a game is determined to be an online money game, the Authority may initiate action under the Online Gaming Act. Further, the Authority is required to publish a list of online games determined to be online money games, in accordance with the Online Gaming Rules. ## State Gaming Laws While the Online Gaming Act governs online money gaming at the national level, the legal framework governing land-based gambling and gaming establishments continues to be determined primarily by applicable state laws (“Gaming Enactments”). The following section examines the regulation of physical gambling establishments and other offline gaming activities in jurisdictions where such operations are permitted, subject to applicable licensing and regulatory requirements. Furthermore, after the Junglee Games Judgement where it is clarified that states continue to regulate betting and gambling, state Gaming Enactments concerning online gaming have not yet been repealed and should ideally continue to apply concurrently. It needs to be seen in enforcement how the provisions of the Online Gaming Act and Gaming Enactments apply together. Scope of Licences: - Goa, Daman and Diu The Government of Goa issues casino licences to operators that conduct gambling activities in five-star hotels and on offshore vessels. The Goa, Daman and Diu Public Gambling Act, 1976 (“Goa Act”) and notifications issued thereunder contain provisions on the operation of licensed games of electronic amusement/slot machines in five-star hotels as well as table games on board offshore vessels. A licence can only be applied for a maximum of 20 slot machines. However, the Bombay High Court in a recent judgement has held that the Goa Public Gambling (Amendment) Act, 1992, which introduced the provision permitting the licensing of slot machines, had not been brought into force in Daman and Diu. Accordingly, the licensing framework for slot machines under that provision does not extend to Daman and Diu. - Sikkim The Government of Sikkim regulates and licences operators that wish to organise gambling activities under the Sikkim Casinos Games (Regulation) Act, 2002 (“Sikkim Casinos Act”) and the Sikkim Casino Games (Control and Tax) Rules, 2007 (“Sikkim Casino Rules”). Licensees can only conduct gambling operations in five-star hotels with the capability to establish and operate casino games. ## Type of licence needed There is only one type of licence required in each State, i.e., there are no different categories of licences. 1. Goa Process: A licence application for onshore casinos in a five-star hotel or offshore casinos shall be accompanied by an application fee of INR 50,00,000 (approx. USD 52,661), regardless of the number of tables or machines installed. Such fees must be deposited in the government treasury. The licence fee for renewal of licence will be INR 1 Crore (approx. USD 105,351). Tenure: A licence granted shall be valid for a period of 5 years and may be renewed on expiry of such 5 years on payment of the requisite renewal fees, provided that the application for renewal is made before the expiry of the existing licence. For renewal of the licence, the licensee shall follow the same process as indicated above. 2. Sikkim Process: For casinos, a licence application must be made by Indian entities to the state government, which will examine the application. After making any inquiry as it considers necessary, and on the satisfaction that the applicant has a five-star hotel with the capabilities to operate a casino, the State Government can grant a six-month provisional licence on payment of a fee of INR 1,00,000 (approx. USD 1,053). A provisional licence is issued to enable the licencee to set up the necessary infrastructure to commence the operation of casino games at any time within that period. When the applicant fully complies with the terms and conditions of the licence, the Government of Sikkim can grant a regular licence for the operation of casino games for five years on payment of INR 5,00,00,000 (approx. USD 526,703). ## List of documents & type of information needed to support application 1. Goa The applicant must submit the following information through the application form for grant of licence or renewal: (i) full name, (ii) address of the applicant (temporary and permanent), (iii) age of the applicant, (iv) occupation, (v) rates of fees proposed to be charged to the customer, category wise for different games, (vi) number of machines to be installed, (vii) whether the application is for a grant of fresh licence or renewal, if renewal then previous licence number and date of expiry to be provided, (viii) whether tax or relevant fee for the previous year has been cleared and if so, the total amount paid (along with a copy of challan enclosed), (ix) hours during which the games will be conducted. ## Applicant considerations 1. Sikkim There is no such requirement for an applicant to mandatorily be a local company under the Sikkim Casinos Act and Sikkim Rules. Any person or company desiring to obtain a licence must make an application to the Sikkim State Government in the prescribed form and manner. 2. Goa As per the Goa Act, licence for installing and operating games of electronic amusement / slot machines or table games and gaming on board offshore vessels can be applied for by any person or company desirous of obtaining such licence. However, a licence for casino table games on board a vessel can only be granted if such a vessel is registered with the Captain of Ports, Goa, under the Inland Vessels Act, 1917 (since repealed and replaced by the Inland Vessels Act, 2021) or is registered with the Director General of Shipping, India. There is no mandatory requirement to appoint any local representatives under the Goa Act. Further, as mentioned above, the applicant is required to submit a declaration of compliance with the Goa AML/CFT Regulations.
India · Question 02 of 11
India Gambling — Licensing and regulation: Can we get a licence?
Unfavourable · Confirmed · Expert approved · 5 post-review updates · Not reviewed · In expert review scope · Back to full India report →
Key section parameters
| Jurisdiction | India (IN) |
|---|---|
| Regulator | Recorded in register |
| Favourability | Unfavourable |
| Confidence | Confirmed |
| Review status | Expert approved · 5 post-review updates · Not reviewed · In expert review scope |
| Last collected | 4 Nov 2026 |
Summary answer
## Central Gaming Law The Online Gaming Act, read with the Online Gaming Rules, establishes a central regulatory framework for online gaming in India. Under the Online Gaming Act, the Authority is empowered to determine whether a particular online game constitutes an online money game. In making su…
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No licence class exists for online real-money games in India: the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 replaces any prior licensing framework with an outright statutory prohibition on offering such games. The Act's territorial-reach clause, at section 1(2), extends this prohibition to online money-gaming services operated from outside India's territory, meaning offshore incorporation or hosting provides no exemption. There is accordingly no application, renewal or authorisation process to describe for the real-money segment, because the segment itself has no lawful basis for operation. The only games the framework licenses or promotes are non-monetary: e-sports under the National Sports Governance Act, 2025, and social games, both administered through the Online Gaming Authority of India for classification and registration purposes.
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The PROG Rules 2026 establish a tripartite classification of online gaming activity. Online money games — including real-money poker, rummy, fantasy sports and card games with stakes — are prohibited outright regardless of skill or chance, a durable statutory position under the PROG Act, 2025 rather than a revocable administrative circular. E-sports, under the National Sports Governance framework, and online social games, via the Online Gaming Authority of India, are eligible for registration-only regimes rather than full licensing. No licence regime exists, or is permitted to exist, for money games. This represents a decisive statutory reversal of the prior judicial skill-carve-out that had allowed real-money poker, rummy and fantasy sports to operate in much of the country; the nationwide prohibition eliminates the legal money-gaming market entirely rather than merely tightening its terms of operation.
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The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 (Act No. 32 of 2025) is durable primary legislation that, together with its 2026 Rules, abolishes the skill-versus-chance distinction that previously allowed certain money-gaming formats to claim lawful status. Online money games, whether based on skill, chance, or any combination thereof, are now comprehensively prohibited nationwide. Esports and online social games remain permitted, subject to registration with the Online Gaming Authority of India. The prohibition extends beyond the games themselves to cover offering, operation, facilitation, advertisement, and promotion, placing statutory liability along the entire distribution and marketing chain rather than confining it to direct operators. This is a comprehensive statutory prohibition of what had been the largest product category in the market, representing a fundamental change to the licensing and regulatory landscape this cycle.
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PROGA 2025 is the primary durable statutory instrument now governing gambling in India, superseding the Public Gambling Act 1867's skill-game exemption framework that operators previously relied upon to structure real-money products. Signed 22 August 2025, with implementing rules notified in April 2026, the Act entered force nationally on 1 May 2026. Its core effect is an outright national prohibition on real-money online gaming; there is no licensing regime, application process, or renewal pathway for this activity class because the underlying conduct is now unlawful rather than merely unregulated. The instrument's durability is that of primary legislation rather than administrative circular, meaning reversal would require fresh legislative action rather than a regulatory consultation. The framework does, however, carve out e-sports as a distinct, formally recognised competitive-sport category with its own regulated treatment, separate from the prohibition applied to money gaming.
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OGAI was constituted on 22 April 2026 under the PROG Act, with state and Union Territory cyber-cell police empowered to investigate offences from the same date. Section 5 of the Act prohibits offering, aiding, abetting or inducing an online money game regardless of whether the underlying activity would previously have been classified as skill-based or chance-based, abandoning the skill-versus-chance test entirely. This is a durable, primary-legislation basis: the prohibition does not depend on regulator discretion or amendable guidance. Only e-sports, where play is skill-based and involves no staking, and non-monetary social games remain within a registrable framework administered by OGAI. There is no licensing pathway of any kind for online money games; the prior regime, under which fantasy sports, rummy and poker operators could argue legality by reference to skill predominance, has been legislatively closed rather than reformed.