Is Fantasy Sports Legal in India? 2026 Guide

For the full legal background on online gaming law in India, see Online Gaming Legal India 2026.

For nearly a decade, Indian courts treated fantasy sports as games of skill and largely outside the scope of gambling laws. The Punjab and Haryana High Court held in Varun Gumber v. Union Territory of Chandigarh (2017) that selecting players based on statistics, form, and knowledge was a skill-predominant activity. The Supreme Court never decided the question on the merits - it dismissed the petitions brought against those High Court rulings, which left them standing without approving their reasoning.

That judicial protection is now superseded for real-money formats.

Parliament passed the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 (PROGA), receiving Presidential assent on 22 August 2025. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) notified implementing rules on 22 April 2026, which came into force on 1 May 2026.

The critical shift: PROGA defines an online money game as any online game where a user pays a fee or deposits money expecting a monetary or equivalent return - irrespective of whether the game is based on skill, chance, or both. This deliberate language removes the skill-based exemption that previously protected fantasy sports from gambling prohibitions. Real-money fantasy contests - entry fees pooled into prize distributions - fit this definition squarely.

PROGA imposes a blanket prohibition on offering, aiding, or enabling online money games. There is no licensing pathway for real-money fantasy sports under the current framework. Major platforms including Dream11 suspended paid contests around August 2025 following the law's passage.

Even before PROGA, several states had already banned fantasy sports. Those bans remain in place and are now reinforced nationally:

• Andhra Pradesh - The Andhra Pradesh Gaming Act (as amended) imposes a blanket prohibition on all games played for stakes, including skill games. Real-money fantasy sports have been blocked since at least 2020.
• Telangana - The Telangana Gaming Act explicitly prohibits risking money on any event including a game of skill. Real-money fantasy was blocked since the state's 2017 amendment.
• Assam - Gambling laws do not distinguish between skill and chance games; all money games are prohibited.
• Odisha - Comprehensive anti-gambling provisions cover online platforms.
• Tamil Nadu - The Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Gambling and Regulation of Online Games Act, 2022 prohibits online gambling and online games played for money, and its Schedule brings rummy and poker within that prohibition. The Madras High Court separately upheld the state's real-money gaming regulations - Aadhaar-based KYC and a bar on logging in between midnight and 5am - in Play Games 24×7 Pvt Ltd v State of Tamil Nadu (3 June 2025). On 27 May 2026 the Supreme Court upheld the 2022 Act, including its Schedule, in State of Tamil Nadu v Junglee Games India Pvt Ltd (2026 INSC 594).
• Karnataka - The Karnataka Police (Amendment) Act, 2021 banned wagering on online games. The Karnataka High Court struck down its operative provisions on 14 February 2022 in All India Gaming Federation v State of Karnataka (WP 18703/2021), but the Supreme Court set that judgment aside on 27 May 2026 in State of Tamil Nadu v Junglee Games India Pvt Ltd (2026 INSC 594) and restored the ban. Karnataka now has a state prohibition of its own on top of the national one.

States that previously allowed fantasy sports under the skill-game doctrine - Maharashtra, Delhi, Punjab - are now governed by PROGA's nationwide prohibition.

For state-by-state detail on rummy, poker, and other games alongside fantasy sports, see Rummy, Poker, and Fantasy State Laws.

If you won money on a fantasy sports platform between 1 April 2023 and the platform's suspension of paid contests, those winnings carry tax obligations that do not disappear. GST on deposits applied from 1 October 2023 onward; TDS under Section 194BA applied from 1 April 2023.

TDS under Section 194BA (Income Tax Act): Introduced with effect from 1 April 2023, this section applies to winnings from online games. The platform deducts TDS at 30% on net winnings (withdrawals plus closing balance, minus deposits and opening balance). There is no general threshold of the kind Section 194B sets at Rs 10,000 - net winnings attract deduction whatever their size. CBDT Circular No. 5 of 2023 allows one narrow easing: tax need not be deducted on a withdrawal where the net winnings inside it do not exceed Rs 100 in a month, provided the deduction is made later - when net winnings in a withdrawal cross Rs 100 in that or a subsequent month, or failing that at the end of the financial year. It is a deferral, not an exemption. You cannot offset this against standard deductions under Chapter VI-A or against the basic exemption limit.

GST on the full face value of deposits: From 1 October 2023, Rule 31B of the CGST Rules fixed the taxable value for online money gaming as the total amount paid to or deposited with the platform - not the platform's commission, and not your winnings. The rate on that value was 28% from 1 October 2023, and rose to 40% from 22 September 2025 for online money gaming, betting, casinos, lotteries and horse racing (recommended by the GST Council at its 56th meeting on 3 September 2025 and notified by CBIC on 17 September 2025). Because the major platforms suspended paid contests around August 2025, 28% is the rate that applied while real-money fantasy contests were actually running. The tax was payable by the platform. How much of it any particular platform passed on to you, and whether it was added on top of your deposit or carved out of it, was a pricing decision that varied - so read your own GST invoice rather than assuming a figure.

If you have unresolved TDS credits from these periods, your Form 26AS or Annual Information Statement (AIS) on the Income Tax portal (incometax.gov.in) will reflect what was deducted. You may need to file a return to claim any refund where TDS was deducted in excess.

With PROGA in force, any fantasy sports app that:

• Requires you to deposit real money to join a contest
• Offers cash prizes paid out to your bank account or wallet
• Charges an entry fee pooled into a prize distribution

…is offering an online money game as defined by PROGA, and is doing so without legal authorisation. There is currently no licensing body that can legitimise this.

Free-to-play platforms - where contests have no deposit, no cash prizes, and rewards are non-monetary (rankings, merchandise, bragging rights) - are not covered by the money game prohibition.

If you encounter an app asking for deposits and promising cash winnings, treat it as an illegal operation and do not send money.

Whether the fraud occurred before or after the legal change, the complaint pathways are the same:

1. National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal: File at cybercrime.gov.in. Select “Report Other Cyber Crime,” attach screenshots of transactions, UPI references, and communications. You receive a complaint tracking number immediately.
2. Local police / cyber cell: If the fraud involves large amounts, file an FIR at your nearest police station under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita provisions on cheating (formerly IPC sections 415-420) and the IT Act 2000 (sections 66C and 66D for identity theft and impersonation).
3. Consumer Forum: If a platform has withheld your money through an unfair trade practice, you can file before the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. Keep all transaction records, screenshots, and written complaint tickets with the platform.
4. Bank escalation: If a fraudulent debit hit your bank account, file a dispute with your bank and escalate to the RBI Ombudsman (rbi.org.in/Scripts/Complaints.aspx) if the bank does not resolve it within 30 days. The RBI's zero-liability framework applies to unauthorised transactions where you did not contribute to the fraud.

Preserve everything in writing: UPI reference numbers, deposit confirmation emails, platform ticket numbers, and a short timeline of what happened and when.

• Screenshots of your account balance, transaction history, and withdrawal request screen.
• UPI transaction IDs, bank debit SMS, or payment gateway confirmation for every deposit.
• Email or in-app receipts confirming contest entry.
• TDS certificates (Form 16A) issued by the platform for winnings - relevant for your income tax return.
• GST invoice from the platform showing the 28% levy on your deposit (for any deposits made October 2023 onward before the suspension).
• Customer support ticket numbers and dates of every exchange with the platform.

The figures below are an illustration, not a real case. They are here only to show how the two taxes interact. Suppose a player deposited Rs 2,000 into a fantasy platform during 2024-25, and across that year their withdrawals plus closing balance came to Rs 4,500. Net winnings under Section 194BA are Rs 4,500 minus the Rs 2,000 deposited, that is Rs 2,500. TDS at 30% on Rs 2,500 is Rs 750, so Rs 3,750 reaches the player and Rs 750 appears in Form 26AS as a pre-paid credit against that year's tax. GST is a separate levy, charged on the Rs 2,000 deposit itself at the rate then in force - it is not taken out of winnings, and the player cannot reclaim it. The lesson survives every rate change: keep your deposit records and TDS certificates, because the tax position is not settled by what the app's balance screen shows you.

Dream11 suspended paid contests after the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 received Presidential assent in August 2025. The platform continues to offer free-to-play fantasy contests. As of August 2026, no real-money fantasy sports platform has received legal authorisation to operate under the PROGA framework, because the law prohibits online money games without a licensing exception for skill-based fantasy contests.

Yes - multiple Supreme Court benches dismissed petitions challenging the skill-based classification of Dream11's format, most recently in 2021 and 2022. But PROGA 2025 overrides that judicial doctrine for purposes of legality, and on 27 May 2026 the Supreme Court itself held in State of Tamil Nadu v. Junglee Games (2026 INSC 594) that betting on games of skill is gambling, that states may prohibit it, and that no Article 19(1)(g) protection applies because betting and gambling are res extra commercium. The skill-versus-chance distinction no longer determines whether a game can be played for money. Parliament's prohibition applies to all stakes-based online games regardless of skill content.

Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Assam, and Odisha had state-level prohibitions before PROGA and those remain in force. Tamil Nadu prohibits online games played for money under the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Gambling and Regulation of Online Games Act, 2022, which the Supreme Court upheld on 27 May 2026. Karnataka's own ban under the Karnataka Police (Amendment) Act, 2021 was revived by the same judgment, which set aside the Karnataka High Court order that had struck it down. These state bans now co-exist with - and are reinforced by - the national prohibition.

Yes. Tax obligations from past winnings do not disappear because the platform later became non-operational. Section 194BA (effective 1 April 2023) requires 30% TDS on net winnings, deducted by the platform. Those deductions should appear in your Form 26AS or AIS on incometax.gov.in. You must declare such income under “Income from other sources” in your ITR. If TDS was not deducted (for winnings before April 2023), you are still required to declare and pay tax yourself.

Free-to-play fantasy cricket - where no entry fee is charged and no cash prize is distributed - is not caught by PROGA's money-game prohibition. Several platforms offer such formats. If an app is asking you to deposit real money for a chance to win cash, it is currently illegal to operate that way under PROGA. Do not participate, and do not send money.

File immediately at cybercrime.gov.in (National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal) and obtain a complaint number. Simultaneously, dispute the transaction with your bank if the debit was recent. For amounts under Rs 50 lakh, the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 is a civil route. Keep every transaction record, screenshot, and support ticket. If you need help with RTI to ask a public authority for records related to a registered complaint or investigation, The RTI Playbook explains how to frame such requests.

• Illegal casino app guide — spot, report, recover
• Online gaming legal India 2026 - the full legal framework explainer
• Rummy, poker, and fantasy state laws - state-by-state breakdown

1. Step 1: What was the legal status of fantasy sports in India? (a) Fantasy sports: online games where users create virtual teams from real players and score points based on real match performance, (b) legal status as it then stood: (i) several High Courts had held fantasy sports (Dream11, MyTeam11) to be a game of skill, and the Supreme Court had dismissed the petitions brought against those rulings without deciding the point on the merits, (ii) on that view it was not gambling under the Public Gambling Act 1867, (iii) and was argued to be protected under Article 19(1)(g) — trade and business, © regulation as then proposed: (i) IT Rules 2023 — MeitY was to regulate online games, (ii) Self-Regulatory Bodies (SRBs) were to certify games, but MeitY never designated any SRB, so no game was ever SRB-certified, (iii) FIFS (Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports) and bodies like it are industry associations, not regulators, (d) GST: 28% on full face value (effective October 2023), raised to 40% from 22 September 2025. All of this is superseded. On 27 May 2026 the Supreme Court held in State of Tamil Nadu v Junglee Games India Pvt Ltd (2026 INSC 594) that once money is staked on the uncertain outcome of a game, the activity is betting and gambling under Entry 34 of List II whether the game is one of skill or of chance, is res extra commercium, and carries no Article 19(1)(g) protection.
2. Step 2: Comparison table — state-wise fantasy sports legality. (a) Most states (Maharashtra, Delhi, etc.): (i) legal status: legal — skill-based, (ii) HC ruling: Bombay HC (Dream11 2019) — skill game, (iii) GST: 28%, (iv) age restriction: 18+, (v) platforms: Dream11, MyTeam11, etc., (b) Telangana: (i) legal status: banned — Telangana Gaming Act amendment 2017, (ii) HC ruling: N/A, (iii) GST: N/A, (iv) age restriction: N/A, (v) platforms: blocked, © Andhra Pradesh: (i) legal status: banned — AP Gaming Act amendment 2020, (ii) HC ruling: N/A, (iii) GST: N/A, (iv) age restriction: N/A, (v) platforms: blocked, (d) Assam: (i) legal status: banned — Assam Game and Betting Act, (ii) HC ruling: N/A, (iii) GST: N/A, (iv) age restriction: N/A, (v) platforms: blocked, (e) Odisha: (i) legal status: banned — Orissa Prevention of Gambling Act, 1955, (ii) HC ruling: N/A, (iii) GST: N/A, (iv) age restriction: N/A, (v) platforms: blocked. (Note: state laws change — verify current status.)
3. Step 3: There is no check that makes a paid fantasy platform legal, because no such platform can be legal. No real-money fantasy platform can be verified as lawful, and no checklist should suggest otherwise. (a) MeitY never designated any Self-Regulatory Body under the 2023 amendments to the IT Rules, so no game has ever been “SRB-certified” and nothing can be checked against that status, (b) membership of FIFS or any similar body is a trade-association fact with no legal effect whatsoever, © a GST registration is a tax registration, not a permission to operate — paying tax does not make a prohibited activity lawful, (d) under sections 3 and 4 of the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 the only online games that can be recognised and registered are e-sports and online social games, and the Act's own definitions in section 2(1) place any game played by paying fees or staking money in expectation of winning outside both categories, (e) section 5 prohibits offering such a game outright, so no licence, registration or certification exists for a paid contest at all. Any platform telling you it is licensed, certified or approved to run real-money contests is making a false claim.
4. Step 4: How to file complaint against fantasy sports platform. (a) Step 1: Contact platform grievance officer — mandatory under IT Rules 2023, (b) Step 2: If no resolution: file complaint with MeitY — meity.gov.in, © Step 3: File a consumer complaint through the National Consumer Helpline at consumerhelpline.gov.in, or call 1915 — deficiency of service, (d) Step 4: File complaint at cybercrime.gov.in if financial fraud, (e) Step 5: File an RTI with MeitY asking what action has been taken against the platform under the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 (do not ask for an “SRB certification status” — no SRB was ever designated).
5. Step 5: Practical tips, as they stood before the national ban. (a) check state law — Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Odisha and Tamil Nadu prohibit real-money online games, and Karnataka's own ban was restored on 27 May 2026, (b) GST applied to the deposit, not to the prize, so the headline prize was never what reached you, © set deposit limits and play responsibly. None of this makes a paid contest lawful now: since 1 May 2026, if an app asks you to deposit money for a cash prize, the answer is not to check it more carefully but to stay away and report it.

See Fantasy Sports Legal and Money Games Legal and Social Media Hacked and UPI Fraud and How to File RTI.