India does not publish a single list of banned game titles. The national rule is category-based. Under the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 (Act No. 32 of 2025), which has been in force since 1 May 2026, offering “online money games” and online money gaming services is prohibited across India. That includes services operated from outside India but offered to users in India. Whether a particular game falls under the ban depends on how its payments and stakes work, not on its name, genre, or popularity.
What the ban prohibits
The Act’s core prohibition is aimed at providers and intermediaries, but it reaches three kinds of activity:
- Offering an online money game or an online money gaming service, or aiding, abetting, or inducing someone to offer one.
- Advertising that promotes an online money game or such a service.
- Financial transactions that move money toward such services.
The Act was enacted on 22 August 2025. Its commencement required a separate notification, and the government’s implementation notifications are dated 22 April 2026. The Ministry’s announcement states that the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Rules, 2026 took effect on 1 May 2026. As of 8 October 2026, the law is in force, so questions about whether a game is “banned” now concern the Act as commenced, not a proposal.
The test: when a game becomes an online money game
The Act defines an online money game as one a user plays after paying a fee, depositing money, or staking something else, with an expectation of monetary or other enrichment. The definition applies whether the game depends on skill, chance, or both. The statute’s own wording is:
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“irrespective of whether such game is based on skill, chance, or both”
Source: Parliament of India, section 2(1)(g), Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025.
Three elements do most of the work:
- Payment or stake. A deposit, an entry fee, or any other stake triggers the test.
- Expected enrichment. The user must expect monetary or other enrichment from playing.
- Convertible value. The Act’s definition of “other stakes” covers value recognised as equivalent or convertible to money, including virtual items bought directly or indirectly in relation to the game.
Because skill-based games are covered as well as chance-based ones, the law is broader than the everyday meaning of “gambling”. A game of pure skill can still be an online money game if the user stakes convertible value on the outcome.
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What the category does not cover automatically
A normal purchase price, a subscription, or a one-time access fee does not by itself make a game an online money game. The Act’s social-game definition permits subscription or one-time access fees where they are not stakes or wagers. Several common models therefore need a closer look rather than an automatic verdict:
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- Competitive games, which are not prohibited simply because they involve winning and losing.
- Games sold as a one-time download or with a periodic subscription.
What matters is how the service works: what the payment buys, whether it can be turned into money or equivalent value, and whether the user expects that enrichment.
E-sports, social games, and online money games compared
The Act separates three categories that are often confused. The table below summarises how each is treated on the face of the statute.
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| Category | Core test in the Act | Position under the Act |
|---|---|---|
| Online money game | User pays, deposits, or stakes something, expecting monetary or other enrichment; applies whether skill, chance, or both | Prohibited to offer, advertise, or fund |
| Online social game | No stakes and no expected monetary gain; a subscription or one-time access fee is allowed if it is not a stake or wager | Outside the online money game definition if its conditions are met |
| E-sport | Organised competitive play whose outcome depends on skills such as dexterity, mental agility, or strategic thinking; betting or wagers are disallowed | Excluded from the online money game definition; the Act separately provides for its recognition and registration |
Calling a game an e-sport does not automatically exempt it. The statutory criteria, including the bar on betting and wagers, and the recognition process both matter.
Why there is no official list of banned titles
The Act establishes categories and empowers the Authority it creates to determine whether a particular game is an online money game. It does not itself name individual games as banned. Readers searching for a title list will not find one in the Act, and the official materials reviewed here do not include a current, complete register of titles determined to be online money games.
Separate from the Act’s category ban are earlier title- or app-specific blocking orders issued under other legal powers. Those orders are distinct from the category-wide prohibition, and the Act does not establish which of them remain in force. Several factors cannot settle a title’s status on their own:
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- Its removal from an app store at some point in the past.
- A past news report about a block.
- Its availability in an app store today. App-store presence is not proof that a game is legal under every relevant rule.
Titles such as PUBG Mobile and Free Fire are frequent subjects of these questions. Their current status cannot be read from the Act’s category ban, and it should be checked against the specific order, if one exists, and the current official status source described below.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to check a specific game
- Identify the exact service. Record the app name, publisher, platform, version, and whether the service is offered specifically to Indian users.
- Map the payment model. Note whether users pay for cosmetic items, subscriptions, entry, deposits, or outcomes.
- Check convertibility. Ask whether anything the user stakes can be converted to money or equivalent value, including virtual items.
- Test the categories. Compare the model against the online money game, online social game, and e-sport definitions in the table above.
- Look for official determinations. Check the Authority’s current determinations and any Gazette notice or blocking order that names the service.
- Treat app-store availability as the last check. It tells you what is distributed, not what is lawful.
Where a title has a local India version with different payment rules from the global version, the India version is the one to assess.
Penalties and blocking
The Act’s penalty for offering an online money gaming service is imprisonment of up to three years, a fine of up to ₹1 crore, or both. The Act also specifies separate penalties for advertising-related and funding-related offences, which are not summarised here. Non-compliant online money gaming services may be blocked, and the Act provides for blocking public access to information related to them.
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The penalty figures are tied to offering such a service. This explainer does not address individual users’ exposure, which turns on the Act’s text and the facts of each case.
The statutory wording on prohibition
The Act’s core prohibition reads:
“No person shall offer, aid, abet, induce or otherwise indulge or engage in the offering of online money game and online money gaming service.”
Source: Parliament of India, section 5, Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025.
Official implementation notifications and named-title orders can change, so confirm the current position before relying on it for a specific game or service.
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