25 May 2026Science & Technology3 questions

Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act 2025 Comes into Force — Real-Money Gaming Banned in India

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Article summary

The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming (PROG) Act 2025, passed by Parliament in August 2025, came into force in May 2026, effectively banning real-money gaming platforms operating in India. The Act cited national security concerns — digital wallets and cryptocurrencies used for money laundering, and offshore platforms serving as communication channels for terror organisations. Platforms including Dream11, Gameskraft, and Games24x7, which had more than 600 million users collectively, have shut down or pivoted to non-money-gaming models. The Act's commencement coincides with the Supreme Court's May 27, 2026 ruling upholding ₹1.12 lakh crore in retrospective GST demands, creating a situation where an industry has been simultaneously banned and billed.

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recallTests whether you read the article and retained key facts.

applicationTests whether you can apply the concept to a new scenario.

analysisTests whether you can reason across multiple related facts.

Sample questions — answers revealed after test

Science & TechnologyRecallEasy

Q1. The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming (PROG) Act 2025 invoked which entries of the Union List as its constitutional basis, thereby framing online gaming platforms as communication networks rather than entities subject to State List Entry 34?

AEntry 31 (Posts, telegraphs, telephones, wireless, broadcasting) and Entry 97 (Residuary powers)

BEntry 45 (Banking) and Entry 97 (Residuary powers)

CEntry 31 (Posts, telegraphs, telephones, wireless, broadcasting) and Entry 43 (Incorporation of trading corporations)

DEntry 13 (Participation in international conferences) and Entry 97 (Residuary powers)

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Science & TechnologyApplicationMedium

Q2. A foreign-incorporated online gaming company, incorporated in Malta, operates a real-money card game application downloadable from global app stores and accessible to Indian users via VPN. After the PROG Act 2025 came into force in May 2026, which of the following statements correctly describes the company's regulatory position under the Act?

AThe company is exempt from the PROG Act because it is incorporated outside India and does not maintain a physical office or registered entity in any Indian jurisdiction.

BThe company falls within the PROG Act's jurisdiction because the Act explicitly treats any operator accessible in India — including via VPN or app stores — as operating in India, regardless of place of incorporation.

CThe company is covered only if it has processed payments through an Indian payment gateway, since jurisdiction under the Act attaches to financial transactions rather than platform accessibility.

DThe company would be governed by the earlier MeitY IT (Intermediary Guidelines) Amendment Rules of April 2023, which continue to apply to offshore entities not subject to Indian incorporation law.

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Science & TechnologyAnalysisHard

Q3. Consider the following statements regarding the constitutional and regulatory dimensions of the PROG Act 2025: 1. A complete prohibition on a commercial activity under Article 19(6) requires a stronger justification than mere regulation, since courts have held that total bans on occupations must survive a proportionality test. 2. If the Supreme Court rules that real-money online gaming is primarily a matter of 'betting and gambling' under State List Entry 34, the PROG Act would be rendered ultra vires Parliament and legislative authority would revert to state legislatures. 3. The 'national security' framing in the PROG Act invokes restrictions permissible under Article 19(2), which governs reasonable restrictions on freedom of speech and expression — the same article that permits restrictions on the right to practise a trade or business. 4. The Finance Ministry's retrospective application of 28% GST on online gaming (October 2023 CGST amendment) and MeitY's simultaneous maintenance of the OGSRO self-regulatory framework represented contradictory regulatory signals from within the same government. Which of the statements above are correct?

A1, 2 and 4 only

B1, 2, 3 and 4

C2, 3 and 4 only

D1 and 4 only

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