India's new gaming regulator has registered zero games, MeitY says

India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has said that not a single online game had been registered with the Online Gaming Authority of India (OGAI) as of 1 September 2026. The figure emerged in September through a Right to Information case heard by the Central Information Commission (CIC), according to a Press Trust of India report carried by Business Standard.

In the same submission, the ministry said it had received 201 complaints related to online gaming by that date. The report did not say what the complaints were about.

How the system is meant to work

• The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 and its accompanying 2026 Rules took effect on 1 May 2026.
• The OGAI was set up by gazette notification on 22 April 2026, under Section 8 of the Act.
• Real-money gaming is banned outright. According to MediaNama, only two kinds of game can be registered: e-sports and online social games, meaning games with no money stakes that may still charge an optional subscription.

MediaNama also notes that people affected by the law have taken legal action against it, and that the real-money sector it shut down was once worth an estimated Rs 1.7 lakh crore.

Why it matters

Five months after the rules came into force, the registration route still has no titles on it. Studios planning esports or social games for Indian players may face continued uncertainty. Developers of free or ad-supported casual games should keep an eye on how the OGAI interprets "online social game" once it starts approving titles.

Sources: Business Standard · MediaNama