PROGA Online Gaming Act India: What the 2025 Law Bans and Allows

PROGA online gaming act India — the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act 2025 — is the most sweeping gaming legislation ever passed by India's Parliament. Despite 'promotion' in its name, the law's primary effect is a complete ban on all real-money online gaming from May 1, 2026. It eliminates the skill-game exception that had protected rummy, fantasy sports, and poker for over two decades, overriding all state-level decisions in the process.

Why Was PROGA Passed?

The Indian government cited addiction, financial harm, and money laundering as primary justifications for PROGA. Despite these stated objectives, critics including legal experts and industry bodies argued the complete ban on skill games is unlikely to withstand constitutional scrutiny. The Supreme Court has historically protected skill gaming under fundamental rights to trade and profession. Detailed legal analysis is available via Mondaq's India Gaming Law 2026 report.

What PROGA Bans

PROGA defines an 'online money game' as any game where a player pays fees or deposits money in expectation of monetary return. The prohibition covers casino games, rummy, poker, sports betting, and paid-entry fantasy sports contests. Skill is not a defence — the law is absolute. This is the most significant change from the previous legal framework, where Supreme Court rulings had established that skill-based games were constitutionally protected.

What Remains Legal

PROGA permits e-sports (competitive tournaments with no player cash stakes), free-to-play games (no cash prizes), and social gaming platforms charging only subscription or access fees with no monetary payout expectation. Online gaming for entertainment without real-money stakes is entirely unrestricted.

Penalties and the DGRA

PROGA established the Digital Gaming Regulatory Authority (DGRA) to oversee enforcement. Operators offering, advertising, or facilitating payments for online money games face up to 3 years imprisonment and fines up to ₹1 crore. These penalties apply to platform operators and payment processors, not to individual players. Players accessing offshore gaming platforms bear no criminal liability under PROGA.

Taxes After PROGA

PROGA does not repeal the tax obligations on gaming winnings. TDS of 30% under Section 194BA continues to apply to winnings above ₹10,000 per transaction. The 28% GST on deposit value remains. For a full breakdown, see our guide on ITR for gaming income.