--- title: "India — Payments and banking: Can we move player money? | advennt.io" canonical: https://advennt.io/jurisdictions/india/payments/ source_html: /jurisdictions/in/payments/index.html description: "India — Payments and banking: Can we move player money?" generated_at: 2026-11-07T14:55:18Z content_sha256: 5a1b7e300ee9436ead286e80e891a9ba264e8e05f2042f6d8566dacc399ec5de generator: "fe-fleet/md-twin@1.0" --- # India — Payments and banking: Can we move player money? | advennt.io [Jurisdictions](/jurisdictions/) › [India](/jurisdictions/india/) › Payments and banking # India Gambling — Payments and banking: Can we move player money? Key section parameters Jurisdiction India (IN) Regulator Recorded in register Favourability Unfavourable Confidence Confirmed Review status Expert approved · 4 post-review updates · Not reviewed · In expert review scope Last collected 4 Nov 2026 Summary answer Under the Online Gaming Act, payments for subscriptions, one-time access fees and other permitted revenue models that do not involve paying money or other stakes in expectation of monetary enrichment are permitted for social gaming. However, in-game currencies, coins, tokens or other virtual items p… 28 Sep 2026 Read update Banks and financial institutions in India are statutorily prohibited from facilitating financial transactions related to online money-gaming services under the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025. This is a new and sweeping restriction directly targeting the payments channel that underpins the real-money gaming sector, cutting off deposit and withdrawal processing at the banking-system level rather than relying solely on operator-level prohibitions. Combined with the Act's advertising and operating bans, the payment-facilitation prohibition closes off the last remaining commercial mechanism by which a real-money-gaming operator could function within India's financial system. 22 Sep 2026 Read update The PROG Act, 2025 and PROG Rules 2026 introduce a new statutory power allowing the Online Gaming Authority of India to direct banks and financial institutions to suspend, restrict or block transactions tied to money-gaming platforms. This is a financial choke-point mechanism layered directly onto the underlying gaming-law prohibition, rather than a standalone payments regulation, and it targets the transaction layer specifically as a means of enforcing the money-game ban against operators who might otherwise attempt to serve Indian users from offshore. The power is durable, deriving from the same primary statute as the prohibition itself, and represents a materially more effective enforcement lever against payment flows than existed under the prior state-fragmented enforcement regime. 14 Sep 2026 Read update No permitted funding methods remain for online money games in India. Banks and payment service providers are statutorily barred from processing transactions linked to such games, and the designated regulator may direct transaction-level blocks. This represents the closure of the entire payment channel that had previously supported the online money-gaming sector, a fragile-instrument (Rules-level) obligation with an immediate and comprehensive practical effect on payment access for any prohibited product. 28 Aug 2026 Read update Section 5 of the PROG Act is reported in secondary commentary to extend the prohibition on online money games to payment facilitators, but no primary Reserve Bank of India or National Payments Corporation of India circular implementing the banking-level compliance mechanics of that extension has been located this cycle. The statutory basis for the extension is durable primary legislation, while the implementing mechanics remain, for now, ungrounded in a located primary regulatory text — a mixed-durability picture in which the legal obligation is settled but its operational application to banks and payment processors is not yet confirmed. This is a material tightening of the payments environment for any entity handling flows connected to online money gaming, notwithstanding the absence of implementing detail. ## Full section analysis Under the Online Gaming Act, payments for subscriptions, one-time access fees and other permitted revenue models that do not involve paying money or other stakes in expectation of monetary enrichment are permitted for social gaming. However, in-game currencies, coins, tokens or other virtual items purchased in social games should not be redeemable or convertible into money, since 'other stakes' under the Online Gaming Act extends to credits, coins, tokens and similar objects purchased with money, and the Authority considers the monetisation of in-game assets outside the game when determining whether a game is an online money game. Registration or participation fees are permitted for e-sports, provided they are paid solely for the purpose of entering the competition or covering administrative costs. However, the Online Gaming Act prohibits any bank, financial institution or other person facilitating financial transactions or authorization of funds from facilitating any transaction towards payment for an online money gaming service. A contravention is punishable on par with offering online money games, i.e., with imprisonment of up to three years and/or a fine of up to INR 1 crore. Further, the Online Gaming Rules read with the Advisory, require such institutions or persons to comply with the Authority’s directions, including to restrict transactions for online money games. Accordingly, banks and financial institutions are made to be ‘gatekeepers’ of the overall ecosystem to ensure that only compliant gaming models are operating in the industry. Previously, AD Banks were comfortable processing remittances for games of skill, on the basis that such games fell outside the Schedule I to the FEMA (Current Account Transactions) Rules, 2000, which prohibit remittances for lottery tickets, sweepstakes and any other hobby etc. which were largely understood to constitute games of chance/ gambling. However, since the Online Gaming Act prohibits online money games irrespective of skill or chance and imposes an obligation on financial institutions or persons facilitating or authorizing the transaction to restrict such transactions, outward remittances for such games are likely to be restricted. Payment methods traditionally accepted on gaming platforms in India include methods such as debit/credit cards, and Unified Payments Interface (“UPI”) which is a real-time mobile payment method that allows users to transfer funds between bank accounts, net banking, and prepaid payment instruments such as wallets. Certain gaming operators accept payment in cryptocurrency. Under the existing Gaming Enactments, specifically under Nagaland Rules, it is the licencee’s responsibility to ensure that all payments on the site are made through registered and recognised payment modes including credit/debit cards, net banking, use of e-wallets, etc. that comply with the Reserve Bank of India (“RBI”) rules and regulations. Payments in cash, if any, are permissible subject to compliance with KYC norms and full disclosure. Under the TN Act, banks, financial institutions and payment service providers are prohibited from engaging in any transaction or authorisation of funds towards online gambling or any online game of chance specified under the Act. Applicants for registration are required to disclose details of payment modes accepted from players, as well as details of certifications for payment gateways.