Tamil Nadu Online Gaming Authority introduces new regulations for online real money gaming industry

The Tamil Nadu Online Gaming Authority (TNOGA) has introduced a new regulatory framework for online real money gaming titled the ‘Tamil Nadu Online Gaming Authority (Real Money Games) Regulations, 2025’. This initiative underscores the government’s commitment to regulating the online real money gaming (RMG) industry, with a particular focus on safeguarding minors and promoting responsible gaming practices. The newly introduced regulations are aimed at ensuring greater transparency, player protection and financial accountability within the online real money gaming industry.

According to the new regulations, an ‘online real money game’ is defined as a game where a user makes a deposit in cash or kind with the expectation of earning ‘winnings’ on that deposit, which is in accordance with the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.

Key Provisions of the Regulations

• The new regulations prohibit individuals below 18 years of age from engaging in any online real money games.
• The regulations require online gaming platforms to implement a mandatory Know Your Customer (KYC) verification procedure during account creation. Consequently, it is mandatory for the players to authenticate their identity using Aadhaar-based verification, followed by an OTP verification linked to their mobile number.
• Online game providers are mandated to display real-time pop-up caution messages where a player exceeds an hour of continuous gameplay. These caution messages need to be displayed at every 30-minute intervals, informing players of their total playtime.
• Online gaming providers must allow users to set daily, weekly and monthly spending limits. Whenever money is deposited, a pop-up message should display the player’s set monetary limit and the money spent so far, in reasonably bold letters.
• To prevent excessive gaming habits, the government has enforced time-based restrictions on all platforms. Consequently, no user will be able to log in on any online gaming platform between 12 AM to 5 AM (IST).
• The login page of all real money gaming platforms is mandatorily required to display caution message such as “Online Gaming is Addictive in Nature.”

The new regulations will be implemented once the same is published in the official state government Gazette, making Tamil Nadu one of the first states to impose such strict restrictions to regulate the online real money gaming sector.