New Delhi, 21 January 2026 – The Consumer Choice Center warns that India’s blanket ban on real money online gaming platforms under the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act (PROGA), is drastically changing the digital gaming and betting space, despite the law being unnotified and now under constitutional scrutiny of the Supreme Court.
As legal challenges to PROGA present themselves to the court, the industry remains trapped in regulatory limbo. Platforms, companies, banks, and intermediaries are acting as if the law is already in force, triggering a wave of service withdrawals, halted operations, and blocked payments without formal notification of enforcement.
The impact of this regulatory confusion is visible prominently on major digital platforms. Google announced that it will not allow any advertisements for rummy and fantasy sports apps in India from 21st January, a bold move seen as a direct response to the sweeping prohibition of PROGA. This decision obstructs visibility for all categories of online skill-based gaming while its legality remains unaddressed.
Shrey Madaan, Indian Policy Associate at the Consumer Choice Center, said:
“What we are seeing is de facto enforcement without due process. A law that has not been notified and is under judicial review is already changing markets through fear and pullbacks. That is not sound regulation, it’s regulatory paralysis”.
Court filings by gaming operators underscore acute economic disruption following the passage of PROGA in August 2025. Payment gateways and banks withdrew services, advertisements were suspended, revenue collapsed, and thousands of industry professionals lost their jobs, even though no formal enforcement action was taken.
Before PROGA, India’s real-money gaming sector supported over 200,000 jobs, hundreds of startups, and generated significant tax revenues. CCC cautions that a blanket ban, without proper regulatory transition risks jeopardizing legitimate business while pushing users towards unregulated, sketchy platforms beyond the authorities’ oversight.
The government defends PROGA as a necessary intervention to address financial harm, addictions, and public order risks. However, the CCC notes that prohibition is a blunt tool that often contradicts its own objectives by eradicating regulated channels rather than correcting specific issues through targeted approaches.
Madaan added:
When legal platforms are driven out through bans, users don’t stop playing, they move to unregulated, unsafe alternatives without consumer protection and accountability”.
As judicial scrutiny of PROGA continues, the CCC urges policymakers and regulators to avoid irreversible market damage caused by over-correction and legal uncertainty. Proportional regulation, a clear legal framework, and due process are crucial for emerging digital sectors that depend on innovation, clear rules, and trust.
Madaan concluded, “India’s digital economy thrives on clarity and confidence.”
