India's Gaming Authority Advises Platforms to Halt Online Money Games
India's Online Gaming Authority (OGAI) has issued an advisory directing entities involved in the online money gaming ecosystem to stop facilitating, advertising, or financially enabling such games, citing the PROG Act. The advisory targets app stores, financial institutions, and intermediaries.
The Online Gaming Authority of India (OGAI) issued an advisory on July 29, 2026, instructing all entities within the online money gaming ecosystem to cease offering, facilitating, advertising, or financially enabling games that violate the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming (PROG) Act, 2025.
The directive, signed by OGAI Secretary T. Santhosh, references Sections 5, 6, and 7 of the Act. It mandates app stores, cloud service providers, telecom and internet providers, banks, financial institutions, social media intermediaries, OTT platforms, and advertising agencies to immediately review their policies, implement compliance systems, and suspend non-compliant activities.
Under the PROG Act, entities can be held liable for directly or indirectly aiding, abetting, or facilitating online money games. The advisory also directs them to restrict access to prohibited gaming applications, stop hosting such services, prevent related financial transactions, and discontinue advertisements. Violations carry penalties including imprisonment and substantial fines.
The advisory follows persistent issues with offshore betting and gambling platforms attracting Indian users despite existing bans. Surveys indicate an increase in usage and spending on these platforms, with operators employing methods like mirror domains and alternative payment methods to evade enforcement. Advertising on social media remains a concern.