Real-money gaming ban backfires? 1 in 3 RMG users shift to offshore betting sites

In August 2025, the Indian government enacted the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming (PROG) Act, aiming to put an end to the longstanding uncertainty surrounding real-money gaming (RMG). However, recent findings indicate that rather than curbing the activity, the ban may have simply redirected users to offshore betting sites. According to Lumikai’s State of India Interactive Media Report 2025, approximately one-third of RMG participants have migrated to international betting platforms following the ban. Renowned operators such as Bet365, Betway, 1xBet, NetBet, and Paddy Power, which operate outside India’s regulatory environment, are seeing a marked increase in traffic. The report highlights a significant escalation in workaround behaviors, particularly the use of VPN-integrated browsers like Opera. The average number of days RMG users accessed Opera soared from 26 days in July-September 2025 to 46 days in October-December. Additionally, the daily usage time for the app nearly doubled, rising from 0.6 minutes to 1.4 minutes. Traffic data reveals that the five major offshore betting platforms experienced a surge in visits shortly after the implementation of the ban, a trend that has continued into early 2026. Furthermore, online searches for these platforms have notably increased. The RMG sector in India, valued at $2.3 billion in 2024, plummeted to $1.3 billion in 2025 due to increasing regulations and has now nearly vanished following the ban. Nonetheless, the demand for digital entertainment has not diminished; instead, it has diversified. There was a 43% increase in daily engagement with music streaming among former RMG users, while micro-dramas enjoyed a 40% rise. Social media engagement also increased by 24%, and OTT video consumption grew by 20%. Free-to-play games are capturing some of the former RMG audience, with titles like Garena Free Fire MAX and Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) seeing increased playtime. Ex-RMG users now spend an average of 66 minutes daily on these games, up from 62 minutes, in contrast to non-RMG players who average 54 minutes. Excluding real-money gaming, India’s video game industry was valued at $1.5 billion in 2025 and is expected to grow to $3.2 billion by 2030. Although the total number of gamers fell by 9% to 555 million post-ban, primarily due to the exit of casual users, the conversion rate for paying users remained stable at 25%. Mid-core games also sustained an average revenue per paying user (ARPPU) of $15. India’s interactive media landscape is now estimated at $13.8 billion, expanding at a rate of 17% annually, spurred by a user base of over 877 million smartphone owners. With Unified Payments Interface (UPI) facilitating 85% of transactions, users can easily transfer funds across various platforms, including those beyond regulatory scrutiny. The report concludes that "a new India no longer just consumes digital media; it actively engages, creates, and plays."