India’s sweeping prohibition of real-money online gaming is now entering its enforcement phase with unprecedented force. The government has blocked 242 additional illegal betting and gambling websites, pushing the cumulative tally beyond 7,800 since the implementation of the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act (PROGA) on Oct. 1, 2025. The law, which outlaws real-money wagering while permitting esports and non-monetized social gaming under strict guidelines, marks a structural reset for the sector. Authorities are targeting operators, advertisers and financial enablers—not users—while building a centralized regulatory framework to replace fragmented state-level rules and curb offshore capital leakage.

India Escalates Its Digital Enforcement Offensive

In a decisive regulatory maneuver, the Government of India has blocked 242 additional illegal betting and gambling websites as part of a broader campaign against unauthorised real-money gaming platforms. The latest wave of enforcement lifts the total number of sites shuttered to more than 7,800, according to government sources.

This is not a symbolic action. It represents the operationalization of the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act (PROGA), which took effect on Oct. 1, 2025. The statute has fundamentally altered the legal terrain for digital gaming in India, explicitly outlawing all forms of real-money gaming, betting and gambling nationwide.

What distinguishes this intervention is its scale and systemic intent. Authorities are not merely blocking domains; they are attempting to dismantle an ecosystem that had thrived in regulatory grey zones.

PROGA: A Structural Reset for the Online Gaming Sector

The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act received presidential assent from Droupadi Murmu in August 2025 after clearing both houses of Parliament earlier in the year. Its implementation marks one of the most comprehensive federal interventions in India’s digital entertainment economy.

Crucially, PROGA does not criminalize all forms of online gaming. The law carves out explicit allowances for:

Esports competitions

Social online games that do not involve monetary wagering

However, these permissible categories are subject to compliance guidelines and oversight mechanisms.

The law overrides the patchwork of state-level regulations that had previously governed gaming activity. In doing so, it establishes a uniform national framework, reducing jurisdictional ambiguities that operators had historically exploited.

From a policy perspective, this centralization signals a shift toward regulatory clarity and enforcement consistency—long-standing demands from segments of the compliant gaming industry.

Operators in the Crosshairs, Not Players

One of the most consequential aspects of PROGA’s enforcement architecture is its focus. Government officials have emphasized that players participating in money-based online games will not face penalties. Instead, legal and financial sanctions are directed toward:

Platform operators

Advertisers and promoters

Influencers marketing illegal betting services

Financial backers and associated intermediaries

Penalties include monetary fines and other legal measures, designed to deter commercial participation rather than criminalize consumer behavior.

This approach aligns with modern regulatory doctrine: pursue systemic facilitators rather than end users. It also reduces political friction, as millions of Indians have historically engaged in digital wagering platforms.

Monitoring Expands Beyond Websites

Since PROGA came into force, enforcement agencies have intensified surveillance across multiple digital vectors. Monitoring now extends to:

Online platforms

Digital advertisements

Social media promotions

Influencer marketing campaigns

Many of the recently blocked websites were offering real-money wagering services in direct violation of the Act.

The inclusion of influencer marketing in enforcement priorities reflects a growing recognition of how betting platforms embed themselves in youth-oriented digital culture. In a country with one of the world’s largest populations of young internet users, such visibility has been commercially powerful—and socially contentious.

The Challenge of Evasion: URL Switching and Offshore Structures

Authorities concede that enforcement is not frictionless. Illegal operators have adopted adaptive tactics to evade detection.

Among the most common strategies is “URL switching”—the rapid migration of services to new domain names after blocks are imposed. This creates a whack-a-mole dynamic for regulators and internet service providers.

More structurally concerning is the role of offshore betting platforms. These entities have been accused of using so-called mule bank accounts to siphon funds out of India. Such accounts, often opened under proxy identities, facilitate cross-border capital transfers that complicate enforcement and raise concerns about financial integrity.

For policymakers, this is no longer solely a gaming issue—it intersects with capital controls, anti-money laundering oversight, and digital payment governance.

The Economic Scale of Illegal Betting

Former industry executives and policy analysts estimate that illegal betting volumes in India run into hundreds of crores of rupees per month. Even conservative assumptions imply annualized figures that rival regulated segments of the entertainment industry.

This scale underscores why the government views the issue as systemic rather than peripheral. A shadow economy of that magnitude distorts:

Tax revenues

Consumer protection standards

Competitive fairness for legitimate gaming platforms

The crackdown, therefore, carries both social and fiscal motivations.

Social Concerns Drive Political Momentum

Officials have framed the enforcement push in social terms. Among the cited risks:

Significant financial losses for users

Addiction and behavioral harm

Exposure of minors to gambling content

The government’s messaging emphasizes user protection, particularly for young people navigating digital ecosystems saturated with promotional content.

In public policy terms, this framing strengthens the legitimacy of PROGA. It positions the crackdown not as an anti-business move, but as a protective intervention against exploitative digital practices.

Creation of the National Online Gaming Commission

Beyond enforcement, PROGA introduces institutional reform. The law provides for the establishment of a National Online Gaming Commission tasked with:

Licensing permitted gaming platforms

Monitoring compliance

Handling grievance redressal

This body represents the regulatory spine of the new framework. By centralizing oversight, India is moving toward a model that distinguishes sharply between lawful digital entertainment and prohibited wagering.

For compliant gaming companies—particularly those operating esports and skill-based, non-wager platforms—the Commission could offer long-awaited regulatory certainty.

Industry Implications

From an investor’s standpoint, the implications are bifurcated.

Unregulated and offshore operators face escalating risk, including domain blocks, payment disruptions and legal penalties.

Compliant gaming platforms stand to benefit from regulatory clarity and reduced competition from illegal entities.

In the medium term, the consolidation of oversight under PROGA may create an investable, transparent segment within India’s digital gaming ecosystem—albeit one stripped of real-money wagering.

The broader geopolitical subtext is also notable. As digital economies expand, India is asserting sovereignty over online capital flows and cross-border digital commerce. The betting crackdown fits into a larger pattern of tightening oversight across fintech, crypto-assets and data governance.