Read the current online gaming restrictions and the steps to protect your money if a casino still contacts you.
No site can legally offer you a casino bonus in India now. These eight cards explain the rules instead, starting with the ones that affect players most.
The guidance below explains the restrictions and links to the original sources.
No signup bonus is listed here for residents of India. Read the restrictions and online gaming guidance below.
Five quick checks if a site still offers you a bonus.
Offering online money games to people in India has been banned since 1 May 2026, and so has advertising them. Any “India bonus” you see is coming from a site breaking the law.
Banks and payment apps are banned from processing payments for online money games. If a site asks you to pay some other way, don’t.
The law covers sites run from abroad too. If one keeps your money, there’s no Indian regulator to take your complaint.
Real-money rummy, poker and fantasy contests are online money games under the Act, even though they involve skill. Free versions are fine.
If gambling is causing you problems, call Tele MANAS, the government’s free mental health helpline, on 14416 or 1-800 891 4416. Tele MANAS.
A short timeline of the law, from the vote in Parliament to the new regulator.
Since then, offering, advertising or processing payments for online money games has been illegal across India. Challenges to the Act are before the Supreme Court, which hasn’t suspended it.
Source: the Act and the government’s explainer.
What matters under the law is money, not the kind of game.
These four points decide whether a game is banned.
If you pay a fee or deposit money hoping to win money back, it’s an online money game. That covers online casino games, poker and betting for cash.
Under the Act it makes no difference whether a game is skill, chance or both. Real-money rummy, poker and fantasy contests are covered too.
E-sports and social games without money stakes are allowed, and the Act sets out to promote them. Land casinos in Goa and Sikkim run under state law and aren’t part of this online ban.
The Act became law in August 2025 but only took effect, with its Rules, on 1 May 2026. From that day, offering, advertising or paying for online money games has been illegal across India.
Card game
Played online for money, Teen Patti is an online money game and banned. Free versions with no cash stakes count as social games.
What the ban coversCard game
Online Andar Bahar for cash is covered by the ban, whichever site offers it. Sites run from abroad are covered too.
Offshore sites explainedSkill game
Rummy involves skill, but that doesn’t matter under the Act. Playing it online for money is still an online money game.
Why skill doesn’t matterPopular Indian card games are still fine to play for fun. The ban is about paying money to win money online.
India’s ban only applies in India. Pick your country for the offers where you live.
Online money games: Since 1 May 2026. Max prison for operators: Plus up to ₹1 crore fine. Regulator: Online Gaming Authority of India.
Last checkedThe Act, Rules and court record
6 OctOur editorial tip
A site still offering Indians a casino bonus is breaking Indian law. If it keeps your deposit or refuses a payout, there’s no Indian regulator to complain to. Don’t send it money.
No legal ones. Since 1 May 2026 the Online Gaming Act bans offering or advertising online money games in India. Promoting a casino bonus to Indian players counts as advertising one.
No. Online money games, including casino games, are banned nationwide under the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025.
The Act became law on 22 August 2025. It came into effect, with its Rules, on 1 May 2026.
No. The Act bans online money games whether they’re based on skill, chance or both.
Only free versions. Paid fantasy contests, where you stake money hoping to win money, count as online money games.
The Act’s penalties are aimed at people who offer, advertise or process payments for money games. Playing on an illegal site still puts your money at risk, because no Indian regulator protects it.
Up to three years in prison, a fine of up to ₹1 crore, or both. A repeat offence means three to five years and up to ₹2 crore.
Yes. Advertising that directly or indirectly promotes an online money game can mean up to two years in prison and a ₹50 lakh fine.
Banks and payment firms are banned from processing payments for online money games, so those payments should be refused.
The government can block access to any online money gaming service that breaks the Act, including ones run from abroad.
You’d have little protection. The site is operating illegally in India, so there’s no Indian regulator to handle your complaint.
A regulator set up under the 2026 Rules as an office of the Ministry of Electronics and IT. It decides which games count as money games, registers games and handles user complaints.
Yes. E-sports and social games without money stakes are allowed, and the Act sets out to promote them.
The Act covers online money games. Land casinos in Goa and Sikkim operate under state law.
No. Gaming companies are challenging it in the Supreme Court, but the court hasn’t suspended it, so the ban applies.
Tele MANAS, the government’s free mental health helpline, is on 14416 or 1-800 891 4416.
Every card above, explained with links to the law itself.
The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act bans anyone from offering online money games in India. It came into effect, with its Rules, on 1 May 2026.
An online money game is any online game you play by paying a fee or depositing money, hoping to win money or other rewards back. It makes no difference whether the game is based on skill, chance or both.
That covers online casino games, poker, rummy and fantasy contests played for cash. E-sports and free social games are treated separately and stay legal.
The Act also covers sites run from outside India that offer these games to people here. So an offshore casino isn’t a legal way round it.
Legal basis: Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, sections 1, 2 and 5.
Section 6 bans any advertisement, in any media, that directly or indirectly promotes an online money game or pushes someone to play one.
The penalty is up to two years in prison, a fine of up to ₹50 lakh, or both. A repeat offence means two to three years and a fine of ₹50 lakh to ₹1 crore.
So a site, app or influencer pushing an “India no deposit bonus” is advertising a banned game. Treat it as a warning sign, not an offer.
Legal basis: Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, sections 6 and 9.
Section 7 bars banks, financial institutions and anyone else handling payments from processing or authorising payments for an online money gaming service.
Breaking that rule can mean up to three years in prison, a ₹1 crore fine, or both. Indian banks and payment apps have every reason to refuse these payments.
If a site asks you to pay through a stranger’s account, a voucher or some other workaround, walk away. That money would have no protection at all.
Legal basis: Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, sections 7 and 9.
Section 9 sets the penalties. Offering an online money game, or processing payments for one, can mean up to three years in prison, a ₹1 crore fine, or both.
A second conviction means three to five years in prison and a fine of ₹1 crore to ₹2 crore. Offering money games and processing their payments are cognisable and non-bailable offences.
The penalties are aimed at the businesses that offer, advertise or pay out these games. Company officers in charge at the time can be held responsible too.
Legal basis: Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, sections 9, 10 and 11.
If a service breaks the bans on offering, advertising or payments, the government can block public access to it under the Information Technology Act.
If a site you use is blocked, you may lose easy access to your account and anything left in it. That’s one more reason not to deposit.
Legal basis: Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, section 14.
Some offshore casinos still accept Indian players. The Act applies to money-gaming services run from outside India too, so offering them to people here is illegal.
Because they’re operating illegally, there’s no Indian body to take your complaint if something goes wrong. Your bank should refuse the payment in the first place.
Our advice: don’t deposit. A bonus can’t make up for money you can’t get back.
Legal basis: Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, sections 1(2), 5 and 7.
The Online Gaming Rules, 2026 created the Online Gaming Authority of India. It’s an office of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, based in Delhi.
It decides whether a game counts as an online money game. It also registers e-sports and social games when required, and hears appeals on user complaints.
Every legal game provider must run its own complaints process. If that doesn’t fix a problem, users can take it to the Authority.
Legal basis: Online Gaming Rules, 2026 (in force 1 May 2026) and section 8 of the Act.
Online gaming companies have challenged the Act in the Supreme Court, in a case led by Head Digital Works against the Union of India.
They argue it wrongly bans games of skill and intrudes on the states’ powers over betting. The case is before a bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant.
The court hasn’t suspended the Act. If its ruling changes anything, the rules on this page could change too.
Legal basis: Head Digital Works v Union of India, T.C. 133/2025, Supreme Court of India.
How we check. On 6 October 2026 we read the full Online Gaming Act on the Ministry of Electronics and IT website. We also read the government’s notice of the 2026 Rules and the Supreme Court case record.
We don’t list offshore casinos for India, because offering or advertising them to people here is illegal. If the law or a court ruling changes, this page will need updating.
If you still get offers from casino sites, these steps keep your money safe.
Four steps, in order.
They’re operating illegally in India, and your money has no protection if they won’t pay.
Advertising money games is banned. An offer in your feed or inbox is a warning sign, not a deal.
Social games and e-sports without money stakes are legal. You can still enjoy Teen Patti or rummy for fun.
If gambling is causing problems, call Tele MANAS free on 14416 or 1-800 891 4416.
Worked example
₹2,000 deposit + offshore site = ₹0 protectionSay an offshore site offers you a ₹500 bonus on a ₹2,000 deposit. If it later refuses to pay, there’s no Indian regulator to complain to, and your bank shouldn’t have processed the payment in the first place.
The bonus looks like extra money, but the whole ₹2,500 sits with a business that’s breaking Indian law. That’s why we don’t list these sites.
India’s rules are strict, but they’re clear: no real-money online gaming, and no adverts for it. If you need help, Tele MANAS is free on 14416.
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