Centre makes registration for e-sports mandatory

23 APRIL 2026

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) notified rules allowing registration of e-sport games and the firms running them, which will take effect from May 1, 2026.
The rules come as subordinate legislation for the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, which prohibited real money gaming in India.
The Online Gaming Authority of India (OGAI), which will run as an attached office within MeitY as a fully digital organisation, has been set up under the rules.
Representatives from the Ministries of Home Affairs and Law have been added to the OGAI.

Regulation of online gaming

Under the new rules, registration for “online social games” will only be required and triggered when the Centre notifies a specific category of games as requiring such registration.
Registration for e-sports is mandatory.
IT Secretary S. Krishnan told the media that the rules have enabling provisions to regulate and require age classifications of video games in the future, should the government deem it necessary to address issues like addiction.
On the issue of betting markets hosting wagers on Indian elections and cricket matches, he said that such sites were being blocked as and when they were brought to notice.

VPN route regulation

“Access through VPNs is a slightly thorny issue,” he added. “We are trying to see how we can regulate VPNs more effectively… there are many legitimate uses of VPNs. So how do you distinguish between the legitimate and the illegitimate uses is the big question… it’s a bit like a whack-a-mole situation,” IT Secretary S. Krishnan said.