On August 21, Parliament passed the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025—a landmark reform that has redefined India’s gaming landscape. For the first time, the law draws a sharp line between gambling, betting, fantasy money games and esports, officially recognising the latter as a legitimate competitive sport. While all online money games—whether based on chance, skill, or a mix of both—now face a blanket ban, esports has been freed from years of regulatory ambiguity and positioned firmly within the framework of sport.
The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports will now set guidelines and standards for esports tournaments, support training academies and research centres, and integrate esports into broader sporting policies—an approach that mirrors the pathways followed by cricket, football, or athletics.
A Historic Moment for India
The timing could not have been more symbolic. India recently celebrated its first esports World Champion when Ved Bamb, better known as Beelzeboy, defeated Spain’s Leo Marin in the Pokémon GO World Championships. Esports, already recognised by the Indian government in 2022 as a multi-sport event, has made steady strides in global arenas. It debuted as a medal event at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, where India competed in four titles, and also secured a historic bronze in DOTA 2 at the 2022 Commonwealth Esports Championships.
With esports set to return as a medal event at the Asian Games next year and to feature at the 3rd Asian Youth Games in October, the sport is now firmly entrenched in international multi-sport competitions. Adding to the momentum, the Esports World Cup Foundation has announced the Esports Nations Cup (ENC), where top players will represent their countries in both team and solo formats.
Esports at the Grassroots
The shift is not confined to international headlines. At home, esports has filtered into the grassroots level. The Khelo India Youth Games in Bihar this year included esports as a demonstration sport. Bihar, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Nagaland have all backed esports through their state sports ministries. Nationally, the launch of the WAVES Esports Championships with support from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has embedded esports into the country’s sporting culture.
Akshat Rathee, co-founder and MD of NODWIN Gaming, believes the new law will unlock fresh opportunities:
“For us, the recently passed Online Gaming Bill 2025 unlocks opportunities like state and district-level championships, scholarships, and career paths similar to traditional sports. NODWIN Gaming is ready with a Zero-to-Hero roadmap – starting from grassroots tournaments to global stages like EVO, GEF, Esports Nations Cup, EWC, and the Counter-Strike Major. India already has one of the world’s youngest gaming audiences and a fast-growing talent pipeline. This clarity gives the ecosystem the boost it needs to reach global scale and recognition.”
NODWIN has already been shaping the ecosystem through tournaments like the Battlegrounds Mobile India Masters Series (BGMS)—India’s most-watched esports event—which has just returned for its fourth season with a prize pool of INR 1.5 crore. This edition also introduces female athletes for the first time, underscoring inclusivity as a core principle of esports growth.
Training Like Traditional Athletes
Much like cricket or football, competitive gaming demands discipline, strategy, and rigorous training. Professional esports players practise for hours daily in structured bootcamps under coaches and analysts. S8UL Esports, a global powerhouse, exemplifies this model. Its athletes competed at this year’s Esports World Cup (EWC) in Riyadh, where the prize pool crossed INR 600 crore.
S8UL maintains a dedicated bootcamp in Navi Mumbai for content creators and competitive players, reflecting the same level of preparation associated with traditional sports. For Animesh Agarwal, co-founder and CEO of S8UL Esports, government recognition is a turning point:
“For years, being clubbed with real money gaming meant regulatory risks and made investors overly cautious about esports. The government’s decision firmly establishes that the video games we play competitively are the only ones recognised in India as a sport. It opens the door for greater societal and parental acceptance, encouraging new talent to enter esports as well as gaming content creation. At S8UL, we look forward to working closely with the government and contributing to this process at every step.”
Infrastructure: The Next Frontier
Just as stadiums and training facilities are central to cricket or football, esports also depends on world-class infrastructure. India’s esports scene has been largely mobile-driven, owing to the affordability of smartphones and data. But PC and console titles are set to gain prominence with their inclusion in the 2026 Asian Games and potentially at the Olympic Esports Games in 2027.
High-performance equipment will be critical, and companies like CyberPowerPC India are stepping in to bridge the gap. COO Vishal Parekh explains:
“If cricket, football, or tennis needs courts and grounds to practice and excel, esports also requires high-quality infrastructure and training equipment. With the Bill creating a safe, regulated space for esports to thrive, we at CyberPowerPC India are committed to making world-class technology accessible to Indian players. Whether it is grassroots tournaments, college esports, or professional leagues, we believe the right infrastructure will define India’s journey to becoming globally competitive.”
Towards a Unified National Framework
For years, esports operated under fragmented regulations, often grouped with real-money gaming and subjected to uncertainty. The new law provides the uniformity the industry has long sought. Rohit N Jagasia, Founder & CEO of Revenant Esports, calls it a decisive inflection point:
“With the passing of the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, the gaming industry stands at a true inflection point. This bill was the need of the hour and is a welcome step toward providing long-awaited clarity. For the first time, the law formally recognises esports as a competitive sport, while also ensuring much-needed uniformity in regulations across states. Until now, the absence of a national framework had led to fragmented state-level laws and confusion. With a clear framework now in place, we can expect it to fuel healthy competition, spur innovation, and attract investments that will strengthen and accelerate the growth of the entire gaming ecosystem.”
That recognition also resonates deeply with professional gamers. Tanmay ‘ScoutOP’ Singh, influencer and brand ambassador of Revenant XSpark, said:
“The government has officially recognised esports as a competitive sport. Competitive gaming has always been skill-based, and it is encouraging to see it finally get its due. This bill’s effort to clearly distinguish between esports, social gaming, and chance-based money games is a crucial step toward safeguarding and nurturing the growth of skill-based gaming. With the right balance, this legislation has the potential to position India as a global esports powerhouse.”
A New Era for Indian Sport
As India marked National Sports Day this week, esports joined the roster of disciplines capable of producing the nation’s next sporting heroes. No longer shadowed by associations with gambling or chance-based gaming, it now stands shoulder to shoulder with cricket, football, and athletics. The dedication, discipline, and competitive spirit of India’s youth are finding full expression in a sport that is global in scale, digital in nature, and now formally recognised by law.
Esports in India has finally earned its place—not just as entertainment, but as sport.
