India's Real-Money Gaming Ban Signals a Tighter Asia-Pacific Gaming Landscape

India's comprehensive prohibition on real-money gaming within the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act (PROGA) 2025 is going to be a significant moment not just domestically, but throughout the Asia-Pacific (APAC) gaming jurisdiction.

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Following a trend of similar action in China, Indonesia, and South Korea, it shows a regional alignment towards stricter control of online gambling and money-based gaming.

While supporters celebrate the law as a necessary step to address gaming addiction and criminal financial flows, opponents argue that it will hamper innovation, drive migration to jurisdictions overseas, and affect the region's economic geography in relation to gaming.

India's Real-Money Gaming Prohibition

The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, which commenced on October 2023, prohibits all real-money online games of chance and skill with monetary stakes. This policy includes fantasy platforms like Dream11, MPL, and WinZo.

Offenders face up to three years' jail and Rs. 1 crore in fines. In contrast, celebrity endorsers and social media influencers who promote any form of play involving monetary stakes can face two-year jail sentences and fines of Rs. 50 lakh.

The law also gives regulators expansive powers to conduct warrantless inspections, seize servers, and freeze accounts, indicating a zero-tolerance approach to the parameters specified in the law.

The government defended PROGA 2025 on the grounds of national security and public safety, mentioning the potential to misuse online gaming for the transfer of stolen money, which has occurred with cryptocurrencies for terrorist funding.

In addition, it is an apparent attempt to pivot the online gaming ecosystem to e-sports and 'safe social games', clearly signalling a recomposition of the way the Government of India is framing the digital gaming economy.

Economic Fallout and Industry Repercussions