Ban on betting and real-money games in India in 2026: which apps are being blocked, and what does the Online Gaming Act 2025 have to do with it

On Feb 25, 2026

In 2026, India continues to enforce the Online Gaming Act 2025, a law that закрепил a complete ban on online games and betting for money. Against the backdrop of this rule, some services stopped operating in the country, and some apps ended up blocked or received access restrictions.

For the market, this became a turning point, because the ban covered not only classic bookmaker products and online casinos, but also a broad layer of services that had previously been positioned as games of skill. The regulation also affected public communications and the payment infrastructure, which left many platforms without a technical way to accept payments.

What exactly the Online Gaming Act 2025 established

The Online Gaming Act 2025 entered into force in 2025 and applies nationwide in 2026. The key idea of the law is described as a ban on “money based online gaming,” that is, any online games involving monetary stakes or cash winnings, regardless of the mechanics.

In public discussion, the question of the distinction between a game of chance and a game of skill is often raised; however, under this regulatory regime, that line for real-money formats effectively ceases to be decisive. The market gets a single rule that is easier to administer, but it also broadens the range of affected products.

What the law prescribes:

ban on all online real-money games regardless of skill or chance
ban on advertising, sponsorships, and influencer promotions for money gaming platforms
ban on banks, UPI, and card networks processing transactions related to money gaming
liability: large fines and imprisonment for up to three years

Who is affected—and who is not

Those affected typically include real-money gaming and fantasy platforms; discussions regularly mention Dream11, Games24x7, WinZO, My11Circle. What matters for these products is not the genre or the interface, but whether there is a monetary stake or a cash payout.

A separate category is esports and competitive games with no monetary stakes. They are viewed as an independent segment where competitiveness remains, but the cash element that triggers the legal restrictions is absent.

Many players are concerned about the availability in the country of arcade-style crash games. In this case, the law leaves no room for ambiguity. Real-money crash games such as Aviatrix, Lucky Jet, Aviator, JetX fall under the law, meaning they are banned. At the same time, casinos to play Aviatrix in India remain available in the offshore segment. This means you can play via overseas servers and apps licensed outside India. However, the adoption of the new law has complicated this process as well. The law warns that payments and access to financial transactions will be blocked.

Why specific services end up being blocked

In 2026, two scenarios occur in practice. The first is blocking or restricted access, when a website or app becomes unavailable fully or partially. The second is an exit from the market, when the operator stops serving Indian users, sometimes maintaining a presence in other jurisdictions.

The reasons most often listed in materials about the bans look like a typical set of risks associated with a digital financial service. These include a lack of licenses, non-compliance with tax and payments requirements, suspicions of fraud, claims regarding data protection, as well as weak age verification, allowing minors to access gambling mechanics.

Offshore platforms and the impact of payment shutdowns

After the ban on money gaming, offshore services that accept users from India also fall under restrictions. Even when an app technically continues to operate, its life cycle runs up against payments, because banks, UPI, and card networks are prohibited from processing transactions related to such products.

This logic resembles a situation where a storefront formally exists, but the cash register has been switched off. As a result, the restrictions manifest not only as blocking of domains or apps, but also as a disruption of the usual deposit and withdrawal flows.

Blocked and restricted apps: twenty examples from the list under discussion

Publications often feature a recurring claim about “25 apps,” however, below are 20 of the most discussed examples with brief explanations. The list does not claim to be exhaustive of all services that have faced restrictions in different years, and it reflects what is more often mentioned in connection with 2026.

Sports betting apps and sports betting

This group usually raises questions about licensing, compliance with tax and payments requirements, and the transparency of personal-data processing, especially with offshore infrastructure:

Betway an international sports betting platform, mentioned in connection with operating without the necessary permits and questions about data protection and payment security
MELBET betting with live mode and a casino section, mentioned due to non-compliance with regulations and reports of unauthorized financial transactions
Betfair Live Line a service of real-time lines and odds, appeared due to a lack of licensing and compliance risks with offshore servers
SuperDraft Sportsbook fantasy leagues and betting, mentioned as an unlicensed product with complaints about advertising and customer support
Onside Sports a combination of sports scores and betting, discussed as access to unregulated gambling services with insufficient financial transparency
Fun88 betting and casino with a focus on cricket, mentioned in connection with non-compliance with regulations and aggressive marketing
Betindi betting on cricket and kabaddi, appeared due to operating without a license and controversial withdrawal terms
BetM betting on cricket and live casino, discussed due to non-compliance with regulations and concerns about money laundering and transaction transparency

Casino: slots and live tables

For this category, the most common mentions are complaints about unregulated gambling, data security, payouts, and measures to protect vulnerable users, including the risk of compulsive behavior:

Silver Luck slots, roulette, blackjack, mentioned due to complaints about payout delays and weak data protection
Big Winner casino and betting with an emphasis on large winnings, discussed due to money-laundering risks and non-compliance with transaction requirements
Zodiac Casino an international online casino, appeared due to non-compliance with local rules and bonus schemes that incentivize large deposits
Live Blackjack a live dealer game, mentioned as unauthorized gambling with insufficient safeguards
Live Baccarat live baccarat, discussed in the context of non-compliance with rules and risks of minors gaining access
Jackpot City Casino a casino with popular games, mentioned due to weak data-protection measures and a lack of transparency
Spin Casino slot products, appeared due to illegal operations and non-compliance with financial-transaction regulations
Bambet a mixed format of betting and casino, discussed due to non-transparent handling of funds and a lack of responsible-gambling measures
Tivit Bet App casino and betting, mentioned due to links to fraudulent practices and weak protection against use by minors

Poker and card games

Here, questions about permits, age restrictions, and compliance with uneven state-level rules most often come up, which complicates the legal landscape even for major brands:

AndarBahar Poker card games and poker, mentioned in connection with promoting gambling without permits and weak age verification
PokerStars an online poker room, discussed due to non-compliance with regional requirements, taxation issues, and preventing minors from accessing it

Odds aggregators and gateways to betting

The complaint about such services may be related not to accepting bets directly, but to the fact that they simplify access to unlicensed platforms and become part of the user journey. Betstamp an odds aggregator, mentioned as a tool that facilitates access to unlicensed platforms and is thereby linked to the ecosystem of illegal gambling

What this means for users in 2026

In 2026, the consequences of the ban regime usually manifest in three areas. These are blocking of apps and websites, restrictions on payments via banks, UPI, and cards, as well as a ban on advertising and promotional integrations for money gaming, including sponsorships and influencer placements.

Using real-money betting services may involve legal and financial risks, as well as data-leak risks; the specific set of consequences depends on the platform’s status and on how access and payment processing are organized. Public information often contains gaps, because some cases are framed as a crackdown on the unlicensed market, while others are framed as cybersecurity and consumer-protection measures.