New Delhi: The Online Gaming market is now officially under the government’s lens. After the Parliament unanimously passed the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 in August last year, the entire sector will now have to comply with the Online Gaming Authority of India(OGAI), a newly established regulator with effect May 1, 2026.
Under the rules, e-sports games have to be mandatorily registered with the OGAI, with each game earning a Certificate of Registration that remains valid for up to 10 years. To ensure accountability and reduce red tape, the OGAI has to complete the registration process within 90 days. Under the Online Gaming Act, banks and payment gateways are prohibited from processing transactions for banned games.
But the challenge lies here: various e-sports games offer features that let gamers earn coins and other virtual assets during gameplay, creating a grey area that needs to be addressed.
These include Counter-Strike 2 or Valorant, even as most e-sports games are played to achieve a goal, with the game offering a virtual platform as well as judging the gamer’s entire life journey.
Industry insiders are concerned about how this could turn out, as the OGAI is expected to address the Registrations on a sou motu basis. At a recently held media briefing, IT Secretary S Krishnan said they are following a ‘light touch’ framework to determine how the game will be classified. He also said that the government will block those apps or websites that promote Real Money Gaming without permission, especially if complaints are made that these games are being played using VPNs or offshore apps.
The Online Gaming Act has been turning into a challenge for online gaming platform companies in India, especially as its sudden implementation has forced the gaming industry to seek other sources of revenue overnight.
