Emerging
India's real-money gaming ban
The largest single market prohibition in gaming, which makes it a template case for how fast a 'growth market' can be legislated away.
What is real-money gaming?
Real-money gaming means playing for actual cash: you put money in, and you might win money back. In India, the biggest version of this is fantasy sports, where players build imaginary teams from real athletes and get paid based on how those athletes perform in real games.
Live in
- IN
Where it stands
India's parliament passed a law banning online games played with money, threatening the survival of the fantasy-gaming sector that had been projected to reach $3.6 billion by 2029. Industry groups are challenging it constitutionally, and critics argue players will shift to offshore platforms. The ban is also collapsing the disputes that sat above the sector: in September 2026 the Competition Commission of India closed WinZO’s antitrust case against Google, the market the complaint concerned having been legislated out of existence.
Further reading
The timeline, consequences and objections for this trend are not written yet. What it is and its reading list are above.