India online gambling laws 2025

🇮🇳 Introduction: The Billion-Dollar Question

India is one of the world’s largest untapped iGaming markets—home to over 1.4 billion people, a tech-savvy population, and one of the fastest-growing mobile-first economies on Earth. And yet, for all its potential, launching or operating an online gambling business in India feels like walking through a regulatory minefield.

Why? Because there’s no unified gambling law.

Instead, India’s online gambling sector operates within a patchwork of state-level laws, overlapping court rulings, and federal silence. This results in a legal quagmire that baffles foreign investors, confuses operators, and leaves users in a regulatory limbo.

This article explores the fractured landscape, state-by-state battles, key legal principles, and whether a unified Indian iGaming framework is even possible.

⚖️ The Core Legal Conflict: State Rights vs Central Inaction

Under India’s Constitution, gambling is a “State Subject” under Entry 34 of the State List (Seventh Schedule). This means each Indian state has the power to regulate gambling within its borders.

However, the central government also has jurisdiction under:

The Information Technology Act, 2000
The Public Gambling Act, 1867 (a colonial-era relic)

This creates an unresolved duality:

The Centre controls internet platforms and tech intermediaries.
The States control gambling activities and definitions.

As online gaming often blends both, operators find themselves caught in a legal crossfire—where what’s legal in one state may be criminalized in another.

🗺️ A State-by-State Breakdown: A Regulatory Minefield

✅ States That Allow Some Forms of Real-Money Gaming

Sikkim – Has a regulated online gambling framework but only permits intranet-based play.
Nagaland – Regulates “games of skill” like rummy and poker under the Nagaland Prohibition of Gambling and Promotion and Regulation of Online Games of Skill Act.
Meghalaya – Passed the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021, which allows licensing for both games of chance and skill.
Goa & Daman – Allow land-based casinos and limited forms of online play.
Karnataka (limited) – Once liberal, now cautious after reversals.

❌ States with Explicit Bans on Online Gaming

Telangana – One of the strictest; criminalizes all forms of online betting, including skill-based games.
Tamil Nadu – Recently banned all online real-money gaming including rummy and poker; legal challenges continue.
Andhra Pradesh – Passed sweeping amendments banning all forms of online gambling.
Kerala – Tried banning online rummy, but the High Court struck it down.

🤷 Grey Zone States (Ambiguous or Unclear)

Maharashtra – No direct ban, but courts are inconsistent.
Delhi – No explicit regulation, operates in a vacuum.
Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana, Bihar – Laws exist for offline gambling; online not addressed directly.

🎯 Skill vs. Chance: The Great Indian Legal Debate

Indian courts distinguish between:

Games of Skill – Legal (mostly)
Games of Chance – Illegal unless licensed

Famous rulings include:

State of Andhra Pradesh vs. K. Satyanarayana (1967): Rummy is a game of skill.
Dr. K.R. Lakshmanan vs. State of Tamil Nadu (1996): Skill dominance makes a game legal.
Karnataka High Court (2022): Upheld skill gaming after state ban.

However, many state governments reject this interpretation, seeing even skill-based gaming as gambling—especially when tied to real-money stakes.

This contradiction creates a scenario where a platform offering poker or rummy can be legal in Delhi but criminal in Tamil Nadu.

🌐 The Rise of Fantasy Sports: A Special Case

Fantasy platforms like Dream11 and My11Circle are often cited as success stories. Courts in several states have upheld that:

“Fantasy sports require significant skill and judgment over chance.”

The Supreme Court upheld this in 2021, yet some states continue to file or consider criminal cases against fantasy platforms.

A fractured response to fantasy sports showcases the urgency of unified policy.

🛡️ Compliance and Risk for Operators

Key Risks:

Sudden state-wide bans (as seen in Andhra, TN, Telangana)
Police action under public gambling or IT Acts
Unclear rules around advertising, especially on TV and digital
Payment gateway restrictions and banking red flags
Intermediary liability under the IT Rules (2021)

Typical Risk Mitigation Measures:

Geo-fencing to exclude banned states
KYC screening with state residency checks
Hosting game logic outside India (especially for offshore brands)
Restricting high-risk games (like poker or teen patti) in sensitive regions

But none of these fully eliminate risk due to legal unpredictability.

🧑‍⚖️ The Government’s Response: Too Little, Too Late?

In 2023–2024, the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) attempted to bring online gaming under the Intermediary Guidelines Amendment Rules, suggesting:

Creation of Self-Regulatory Bodies (SRBs)
Mandatory KYC and grievance redressal
Prohibition of betting and wagering

Yet, the rulemaking lacked teeth. Several states refused to comply, citing their constitutional autonomy.

In short, India has:

No central regulator for online gambling
No licensing body for pan-India operations
No national standard for what qualifies as a “game of skill”

📈 Why Operators Still Bet on India

Despite the minefield, India is:

The second-largest smartphone market globally
Set to reach 900 million internet users by 2025
Seeing rapid growth in UPI-based microtransactions
Experiencing a boom in vernacular content and tier-2/3 gamers

According to EY-FICCI 2024 reports, India’s real-money gaming sector is expected to hit $5.5 billion in revenue by 2027.

This explains why:

Global players like Stake, Betway, and Parimatch are building India-facing models
Dozens of Indian startups are raising VC funding
Big names like Nazara Technologies are doubling down on skill gaming

🧩 Is a Federal Gambling Framework the Answer?

There have been whispers of a federal Gambling Regulatory Authority—perhaps modeled on the TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India)—but this faces major political hurdles.

Why?