Is gambling legal in your state? (April 2026)

Short rule: Online satta = illegal everywhere. Every online real-money game — skill or chance — has been banned nationwide since 1 May 2026. Casinos are in-person only, in three states.

Since 1 May 2026 the Online Gaming Act 2025 bans it in every state. Tamil Nadu · Andhra Pradesh · Telangana had already banned it under their own laws.

• Casinos (in-person only): Goa · Daman · Sikkim.
• State lotteries: Kerala · Punjab · Maharashtra · Goa · Sikkim · Mizoram · Nagaland · Manipur · MP · WB · Arunachal · Meghalaya · Assam.
• Private lotteries: illegal everywhere (Lotteries Regulation Act 1998).

All online real-money games illegal · free-to-play and recognised e-sports allowed · offline casinos illegal.

Every online money game is banned — there is no register and no app can be licensed for real-money play. The Act's penalties fall on operators, advertisers and payment facilitators; it prescribes no penalty for playing.

Winnings = 30% tax under §115BBJ — even on illegal apps. In trouble: call 1930 · file at cybercrime.gov.in.

righttoinformation.wiki/gambling-laws-state-by-state-india

RTI Wiki — citizen-first legal content. April 2026. Forward when someone asks “is it legal in our state?”

Issues like this are common — every year lakhs of Indian citizens face the same hurdle. The core legal frameworks are the Right to Information Act, 2005, the Information Technology Act, 2000 (for online matters), and the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. The enforcement bodies vary by issue but most start with a complaint to the relevant department PIO + a parallel CPGRAMS filing.

1. Step 1 — file an RTI under §6 of the RTI Act 2005 to the relevant department PIO. Use AI RTI Drafter for free.
2. Step 2 — parallel CPGRAMS complaint at pgportal.gov.in for service-delivery push.
3. Step 3 — if PIO refuses, §19(1) First Appeal in 30 days. Use First Appeal Builder.
4. Step 4 — for fraud / criminal matters, FIR at local police station + cybercrime portal (cybercrime.gov.in) + NCRP helpline 1930.
5. Step 5 — for consumer issues, Consumer Court under Consumer Protection Act 2019 (e-filing at e-jagriti.gov.in).

• Right to Information Act, 2005 — full text
• Bhagat Singh v. CIC (Delhi HC, 2007) — procedural objections cannot defeat RTI
• CPGRAMS — pgportal.gov.in (DARPG)
• Cybercrime portal — cybercrime.gov.in
• National Consumer Helpline — 1915

• AI RTI Drafter
• First Appeal Builder
• AwaazRTI (voice in 11 Indian languages)
• Case-law database (300+)
• RTI Act, 2005