Is Online Betting Legal in India? – 2026 Law Explained

By Polar Loop editorial teamUpdated 2026-11-048 min read

No — online real-money betting in India is not legal under current central law. The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 prohibits online money games nationwide, including offering them, advertising them and processing payments for them, on top of older state gambling laws. This page explains the law in plain language using official sources; it is general information, not legal advice.

The short answer

Since August 2025, India has had a central law that, in the government’s words, “comprehensively prohibits all forms of online money games”, whether they involve skill, chance or both (PIB, 18 March 2026). Betting on cricket for money on an app or exchange panel falls within that idea of an online money game.

So this site will never tell you that online betting is legal or legally safe. If you use an ID, you are doing so in a restricted legal environment, and you should understand the risks below. Read our disclaimer and terms as well.

Who makes gambling laws in India? The Constitution and the 1867 Act

Under the Constitution, “betting and gambling” is listed as Entry 34 in the State List of the Seventh Schedule, which is why each state has historically made its own gambling laws. You can read the Constitution and central Acts on India Code, the government’s official legislation portal.

The oldest law is the Public Gambling Act, 1867, a colonial-era statute that penalises running or being found in a “common gaming house”. Many states adopted it or replaced it with their own Acts (for example Maharashtra, Telangana and Tamil Nadu each have their own gaming laws). These laws were written for physical premises, which is why online betting sat in a grey area for years — until the 2025 central Act addressed online money games directly.

A few states allow specific, licensed forms of gambling. Goa and Sikkim, for example, permit licensed casinos under their state laws, and betting on horse races at licensed race courses has long been treated differently. None of these exceptions turns an ID into a licensed product.

Skill vs chance: what the courts said

Before 2025, most legal debate turned on whether a game was one of skill or chance. At a high level:

• State of Bombay v. R.M.D. Chamarbaugwala (1957) — the Supreme Court held that competitions which are essentially gambling are not protected trade or business.
• State of Andhra Pradesh v. K. Satyanarayana (1968) — rummy was held to be a game involving a substantial degree of skill.
• K.R. Lakshmanan v. State of Tamil Nadu (1996) — betting on horse racing was treated as a game of skill.
• State-level online laws — the Karnataka High Court struck down key parts of Karnataka’s 2021 online gaming amendment in 2022, and the Madras High Court in 2023 upheld Tamil Nadu’s 2022 online gambling law while setting aside its listing of rummy and poker as games of chance. Appeals have gone to the Supreme Court.

Two points matter for cricket bettors. First, the skill argument was mostly used for games like rummy, fantasy sports and horse racing — wagering on the result of a cricket match has generally been treated as betting under state laws. Second, the 2025 Act makes the distinction largely irrelevant for online money games, because it prohibits them “whether involving games of chance, games of skill, or any combination thereof” (PIB).

The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025

Parliament passed the Act in August 2025 (the Lok Sabha on 20 August and the Rajya Sabha on 21 August), and the Prime Minister welcomed its passage in an official PIB release. It received Presidential assent on 22 August 2025 and became Act No. 32 of 2025.

According to the government’s own summary (PIB, 18 March 2026), the Act:

• prohibits offering online money games, whether based on skill, chance or both;
• prohibits advertising, promoting and facilitating such games;
• prohibits the processing of related financial transactions through banks or payment systems; and
• empowers authorities to block access to unlawful platforms under the Information Technology Act, 2000.

An “online money game” broadly means a game where a user pays money or other stakes expecting to win money or other enrichment. Cricket betting on an exchange panel with real money fits that description.

Penalties under the Act (as stated by the government)

The figures below are taken from the official PIB release. They apply to the persons who offer, facilitate or advertise online money games.

Source: PIB release ID 2241804. This is a high-level summary; the Act itself contains the precise wording, definitions and other provisions such as civil penalties.

What the Act supports: e-sports, social games and the 2026 Rules

The Act is not anti-gaming in general. It provides for the recognition and promotion of e-sports and online social games (games played without real-money stakes), and it sets up the Online Gaming Authority of India.

On 22 April 2026, MeitY announced the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Rules, 2026, which came into force on 1 May 2026 (PIB, 22 April 2026). Per that release:

• The Authority is an attached office of MeitY, headquartered in Delhi, and maintains and publishes a list of online money games.
• There is a process to determine whether a particular game is an online money game (and therefore prohibited) or a permitted social game or e-sport.
• Registration is required for games offered as e-sports and for any categories of social games the government notifies; an online money game cannot be registered as an e-sport.
• One stated objective is preventing banks, payment systems and financial institutions from facilitating transactions linked to prohibited online money games.

Petitions challenging the Act have been pending before the Supreme Court of India. Until a court says otherwise, the Act is the law, and you should check for updates before relying on any summary — including this one.

Tax on online winnings

Being prohibited does not make winnings tax-free. According to the Income Tax Department, under the Income-tax Act, 1961:

• Section 115BBJ taxes net winnings from online games at a flat 30%, whether the game is one of skill or chance (cess and any surcharge are added on top).
• Section 194BA requires tax to be deducted at source (TDS) at 30% on net winnings, at the time of withdrawal or at the end of the financial year.
• The basic exemption limit does not apply, and no deductions (such as 80C) are allowed against such winnings.

Worked example: if your net winnings for the year are ₹40,000, the base tax at 30% is ₹12,000 before cess. Note that the Income-tax Act, 2025 replaced the 1961 Act from 1 April 2026, and these provisions now sit under new section numbers in the new Act. Check the department’s website or a chartered accountant for the provision that applies to your tax year. Paying tax does not make an activity legal. Keep records of deposits and withdrawals, because large unexplained credits in a bank account can lead to questions from the tax department regardless of where the money came from.

What this means for you as a user

The Act’s penalties, as described by the government, focus on those who offer, facilitate and advertise online money games, and ministers described players as victims during the debate. That does not mean users face no consequences. Practically:

You must be 18 or older to read about or use any betting product. If gambling is affecting your money, work or family, please read our responsible gaming page.

Common misunderstandings about betting law in India

• “Offshore sites are legal because they are based abroad.” — The Act is written to cover online money gaming services offered in India, including those operated from outside the country, and authorities can block access to such platforms.
• “It’s a game of skill, so it’s allowed.” — The Act prohibits online money games whether skill, chance or both are involved.
• “If I pay tax, it’s legal.” — Tax law and gaming law are separate; paying tax does not authorise the activity.
• “Demo play is the same as betting.” — Free play with no real-money stakes is different from staking money, though platforms must still follow the law.
• “My state allows casinos, so online betting is fine.” — Licensed land-based casinos in a few states do not cover online cricket betting.

Not legal advice: where to check for updates

This guide is general information written for Indian readers and was checked against official sources in 2026, following our editorial policy. Our KYC and AML policy and FAQ explain how we handle accounts. It is not legal advice, laws and court rulings can change, and your situation may differ by state. For anything that affects you personally, consult a qualified lawyer. Official updates are published by PIB and MeitY, and Acts are on India Code. If you only want to understand how exchange markets work, a demo ID uses practice points, not real money.