India’s New Online Gaming Law: No Game Registered, 201 Complaints Received

No online game has yet been registered by the Online Gaming Authority of India (OGAI), while 201 complaints relating to online gaming had been received as of 1 September 2026, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) informed the Central Information Commission (CIC) in an RTI matter seeking details of permitted online games, complaints and action taken against fake online games.

Implementation has been gradual: the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 was notified on 22 August 2025; the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Rules, 2026 were notified, and the OGAI was constituted under Section 8 of the Act, on 22 April 2026; and the Act and Rules came into force on 1 May 2026. The 1 September figures therefore reflect the first four months of the regime.

The absence of registrations should be read against the design of the framework. Under Rule 12, an online game is registered only where (a) the Central Government, by notification, requires a game or category of games to be registered, having regard to factors such as risk of harm to users (including children), scale of participation and financial transactions, among others; (b) the game is to be offered as an e-sport; or (c) the OGAI, while making a determination on an application, considers registration necessary. Online money games cannot be registered as e-sports, and each game requires a separate registration.

When the Rules were notified, MeitY Secretary S Krishnan indicated that no category of online social games had been notified for mandatory registration, and described the framework as intentionally ‘regulation-light’. Absent a notification under Rule 12(1)(a), online social games need not register at all; mandatory registration currently bites only on e-sports.