Current position in India
The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 applies throughout India and was brought into force in April 2026. It prohibits the offering of online money games and separately prohibits any bank, financial institution or other person facilitating financial transactions from enabling payment for an online money gaming service.
That means a payment gateway cannot treat every product labelled “gaming” as the same category. The game mechanics, payment purpose and possibility of monetary return must be understood before a merchant or method can be considered.
Our policy: we do not provide gateway services for prohibited online money games, wagers, betting or payment flows designed to conceal a stake.
Three categories that matter
Esports
The Act describes esports as organised competitive play governed by predefined rules and recognised under the applicable sports framework. It may include registration or participation fees used to enter or cover administrative costs, and performance-based prize money, but it cannot involve bets, wagers or other stakes.
Online social games
An online social game does not involve staking money or participating with the expectation of monetary gain. It may charge a subscription or one-time access fee when that payment is not a stake or wager and the game is offered for entertainment, recreation or skill development.
Online money games
An online money game involves a user paying fees, depositing money or providing another stake in expectation of monetary or equivalent enrichment. The prohibition applies regardless of whether the game is described as skill, chance or a mixture. Esports that meet the statutory definition are excluded from this category.
The payment purpose must match the product
| Payment purpose | Gateway onboarding requirement |
|---|---|
| Social-game subscription or access fee | Confirm that the fee buys access and is not a stake tied to monetary winnings |
| Esports registration or participation fee | Review event structure, permitted cost purpose, recognition or registration and absence of betting |
| Virtual item or content purchase | Check whether anything purchased is treated as a stake or can be converted into money or equivalent value |
| Prize or refund operation | Confirm the legal basis, source, destination, partner permissions and connection to an eligible game |
| Deposit linked to expected monetary winnings | Out of scope for this gateway service in India |
Names and labels do not decide eligibility. The actual economic flow, user expectation and game mechanics do.
Documents needed to activate the gateway
- Company, ownership and authorised-signatory information.
- Game or app URL, screenshots and a plain-language description of the rules.
- Every payment-in and payment-out flow, including fees, purchases, prizes and refunds.
- Player terms, privacy notice, refund policy and grievance contact.
- Target states, countries, age controls and responsible-use safeguards.
- Registration, recognition, legal opinion or regulator correspondence where relevant.
- Expected payment methods, ticket sizes, monthly volume and chargeback profile.
Official sources
Use the current official text and qualified advice for a final decision:
- MeitY: Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, rules and notifications
- Gazette text: Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025
- RBI: Guidelines on Regulation of Payment Aggregators and Payment Gateways
- RBI: current Payment and Settlement Systems notifications
Ready to connect an eligible game?
Send the actual game and payment flow. We will confirm the onboarding evidence and begin configuring your gateway.
Get your payment gateway