New Delhi, April 22 -- India's online gaming landscape is set for a significant overhaul as the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act 2025 (32 of 2025) comes into force on May 1, 2026. MeitY Secretary S. Krishnan unveiled the key provisions of the rules, emphasising a "regulation-light" approach designed to reduce compliance burden on the industry.

The new rules make determination and registration largely voluntary. Most online social games can operate without being classified or registered with the authorities. "We wanted to keep this entire thing as regulation-light as possible," Krishnan said.

Determination -- the process of classifying a game as a social game, money game, or eSport -- will now only be triggered in three situ...