India Exempts Non-Real-Money Online Games from Mandatory Registration Under New MeitY Rules

Online games that do not involve real money or winnings will not require mandatory registration or classification, the ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) said on Wednesday, in a new regulatory framework for the sector.

MeitY notified the much-awaited rules providing the procedural framework to operationalise the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, which will also facilitate the creation of an online gaming authority.

Most online games - if they are not real money games, which are already and explicitly banned under the provisions - will not mandatorily need to be registered or determined, IT Secretary S Krishnan said.

According to the rules, determination of a game's status will only occur if the authority independently takes up a title, a company seeks regulatory clarity, or the Centre formally notifies a specific category of games.

"...We wanted to, as far as possible, keep this entire thing as regulation-light as possible. Most games, which are not money games, should be able to operate with no obligation to necessarily either be determined or registered. So that entire process is optional," he said.

"We are not obligating anybody to apply to determine whether it is an online money game, or online social game, or esports."

Real-money online games, however, face a stricter regime. Platforms will be evaluated on factors including entry fees, expectation of winnings, revenue models, and monetisation of in-game assets. The designated authority will have ninety days to deliver a decision on any game brought before it.

Competitive e-sports has been granted a separate carve-out under the framework, acknowledging its distinct nature from gambling-adjacent products. It will require mandatory registration as specified in the parent Act.

Banks and payment companies will serve as key enforcement arms, tasked with blocking financial transactions to platforms banned under the new rules.

The framework also mandates user safety features across eligible platforms, including fair play systems and cybersecurity protections.