Is cricket betting legal in India?

Online cricket betting is not legal in India. Since 1 May 2026, the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 has banned all online real-money games in the country, and betting on cricket falls squarely inside that ban. It no longer matters whether an activity is argued to be a game of skill or a game of chance: if it is played online for money, the law prohibits it, along with any advertising or payment processing that supports it.

That is a sharp break from the situation Indian bettors knew for years, when the answer depended on a patchwork of state laws and a long-running skill-versus-chance debate. This guide explains what the new law actually says, why cricket betting is caught by it, what happened to deposits and UPI payments, and the narrow set of activities that remain legal.

What the law says now

The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 received presidential assent on 22 August 2025, and the Act together with its 2026 rules came into force on 1 May 2026. It prohibits every form of online money game, whether based on chance, skill, or a mix of the two. The same law bans the advertising, promotion and facilitation of those games, and it stops banks and payment systems from processing transactions linked to them.

Under the rules, online games fall into three buckets: e-sports, which are skill-based competitions with no money staked on the result; social games, which are non-monetary; and money games, which are banned outright. Cricket betting falls in the last group. Enforcement sits with a new body, the Online Gaming Authority of India, set up under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. It has the power to identify prohibited platforms and order them blocked. More than 7,800 gambling websites have been blocked in the country since October 2025 as the crackdown gathered pace ahead of the Act taking full effect.

Why cricket betting is caught by the ban

For decades the legality of betting in India turned on one question: was the activity a game of skill or a game of chance? Under the old framework, built on the Public Gambling Act of 1867 and a mix of state laws, courts used a “preponderance” test. If skill outweighed chance, an activity could be treated as legal; if chance dominated, it counted as gambling and was banned in most states. Cricket betting was generally viewed as a game of chance, which is why it sat on the wrong side of the line for the public.

The 2025 Act removes that argument entirely for anything played online for money. It defines an online money game by the fact that a player pays a stake in the hope of a monetary return, regardless of how much skill is involved. Placing money on a cricket match through an online platform fits that definition, so the skill-versus-chance debate that once gave betting operators room to argue no longer applies online.

What happened to deposits and UPI payments

One of the most practical effects of the law is on money movement. The Act does not only target the platforms; it also cuts off the payment channels that feed them. Banks, UPI and other financial institutions are barred from processing transactions connected to online money games, and handling those payments is itself an offence.

In plain terms, the deposit and withdrawal routes that betting sites relied on are meant to be closed. A UPI transfer or card payment intended to fund an online betting account is exactly the kind of transaction the law is designed to stop, which is why users increasingly find that mainstream payment methods no longer work with these platforms.

What is still legal

The ban is aimed specifically at online money games, so a few adjacent activities sit outside it. Fantasy sport built around team selection and player statistics has long been treated as a game of skill, which is how platforms such as Dream11 have operated, though how the new framework treats each format is something operators and regulators continue to work through.

Away from the internet, some forms of betting remain legal under their own rules. Betting on horse racing at licensed racecourses is permitted, following a 1996 Supreme Court judgment that classed it as a game of skill. Physical casinos operate legally in Goa, Sikkim and Daman under state licensing regimes. Esports also keeps a clear carve-out: the Act recognises organised, skill-based competitive gaming as legitimate, provided it involves no betting, wagering or staking on the outcome.

What the penalties are

The consequences fall on operators and facilitators rather than being framed around ordinary players. Offering, aiding, abetting or otherwise running an online money gaming service can bring imprisonment of up to three years and a fine of up to one crore rupees. Processing the financial transactions tied to these games carries similar penalties. The weight of the law is squarely on the businesses and the money rails behind them.

Is the law being challenged?

Yes. The Act has been challenged in the Supreme Court on constitutional grounds, with parts of the online gaming industry arguing over how it treats skill-based formats. A hearing in January 2026 did not produce a ruling, and the matter remains unresolved. Until a court says otherwise, though, the Act is in force and being enforced, so the current legal position is the one that counts.

Cricket betting in India: quick FAQs

Is online cricket betting legal in India? No. Online real-money games, including betting on cricket, are prohibited under the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, which has been in force since 1 May 2026.

Does the skill-versus-chance argument still help? Not for online money games. The Act bans them whether they are described as games of skill, chance or a combination, so the old distinction no longer decides the question online.

Can I still use UPI to fund a betting account? The law bars banks and payment systems from processing transactions tied to online money games, so those payment routes are meant to be blocked and increasingly do not work.

What about fantasy cricket and horse racing? Fantasy sport based on skill has historically been treated differently from betting, and betting on horse racing at licensed racecourses remains legal as a game of skill. Both sit outside the online money game ban.

The bottom line

For anyone asking whether cricket betting is legal in India, the current answer is clear: online real-money cricket betting is banned, the payment channels behind it are being shut off, and the penalties land on operators and facilitators. A pending Supreme Court challenge could reshape the picture later, but as things stand the 2025 Act sets the rules. The safest reading is to treat online betting as off-limits and to keep an eye on how the courts rule.

If you want to understand how betting markets work rather than take part in them, our explainer on how betting exchanges work breaks down the mechanics, and our betting site reviews explain how these platforms are assessed.

This article is general information about the legal position on cricket betting in India, not legal or betting advice. Online real-money gaming is prohibited in India under the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025. Always check the rules that apply where you are. 18+.