India Reviews Payment Data Rules for Illegal Gaming Networks

India is examining whether payment records should contain more information about the websites behind transactions linked to illegal online gaming and betting.

The proposal comes from the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI), which wants investigators to have a clearer way to connect websites with merchants and financial accounts. Under the suggested changes, payment records would identify the website that sent or directed a user to make a transaction. Authorities also want disclosure of every bank account associated with a website’s goods and services tax registration.

The recommendations emerged after a 14-month DGGI investigation identified INR 700 billion ($7.4 billion) in transactions associated with illegal online gaming and betting networks during one financial year.

That amount covers transactions found during the investigation. It does not represent a confirmed figure for operator earnings, tax evasion or government revenue losses. Authorities are still investigating the financial impact.

Proxy Merchants Complicate the Transaction Trail

The proposed changes focus on a gap authorities encounter when examining gambling-related payments.

Banks and payment gateways currently record information about the merchant receiving a transaction. Illegal betting websites can direct users to proxy merchant businesses, making the relationship between the website and the payment recipient more difficult to establish.

Adding the originating or directing website to the payment record could provide investigators with another piece of information when following funds through merchants and bank accounts.

Disclosure of accounts linked to GST registrations could serve a similar purpose. Investigators would gain more information about accounts potentially involved in receiving or transferring money associated with illegal gaming operations.

The DGGI has yet to define who would be responsible for creating and keeping these records. Gaming platforms could have a role, while responsibilities could also fall to payment gateways, aggregators or banks.

Verification presents another unresolved issue. Any final framework would need a method for confirming that the website recorded as the source of a payment is actually the website that initiated or directed the transaction.

“Authorities have yet to determine which entities would collect and maintain the additional information”

For that reason, the proposals remain under consultation. The process will consider how companies would collect the information and retain it, along with how authorities would receive access to the records.

The requirements could also create additional due-diligence responsibilities for payment providers and banks if officials decide to proceed with the plan.

DGGI’s investigation also considered whether illegal betting and gaming networks could facilitate money laundering and other illicit financial activity.

Payment Proposal Follows Wider Online Gaming Restrictions

The discussion is taking place within a significantly changed legal environment for online money gaming in India.

The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 introduced a prohibition on online money games. It also prevents banks and payment systems from processing transactions connected with those games.

Supporting rules took effect on May 1, 2026.

The framework does not separate online money games according to whether they involve skill or chance. It also covers advertising and payment facilitation associated with prohibited games.

If adopted, the DGGI recommendations would give investigators additional transaction information while those broader restrictions remain in force. Authorities could potentially use records identifying originating websites alongside information about merchants and GST-linked bank accounts when examining financial activity.

The legal changes have already affected another matter involving India’s former real-money gaming market.

Gaming Ban Changes Course of Google Competition Case

A separate antitrust dispute between WinZO Games and Google recently ended after the Competition Commission of India concluded that the new legislation had changed the circumstances that originally led to the case.

WinZO submitted its complaint in 2022, alleging that Google abused its dominant position through its Play Store and Google Ads policies.

The dispute included Google’s pilot program for real-money gaming apps. That initiative admitted daily fantasy sports and rummy applications to the Play Store while excluding other real-money gaming products.

In November 2024, the Competition Commission ordered a detailed investigation after reaching a prima facie view that the complaint warranted examination.

Google subsequently proposed permitting eligible skill-based real-money games and advertising connected with them, provided the products met certification requirements.

The regulatory environment later changed. The 2025 legislation prohibited online money games and associated advertising and payment facilitation without maintaining the previous distinction between games of skill and chance.

Google had already discontinued its real-money gaming pilot and stopped taking related advertisements in January 2026.

WinZO then sought to withdraw its complaint at an August 25 hearing. The Competition Commission said that request did not by itself require the regulator to end the proceedings. It separately concluded that continuing with the case would serve no useful purpose because the relief originally sought could no longer be granted under the current legal framework.

The regulator left open the possibility of reviewing Google’s conduct again if circumstances change. It said the matter could return if the legislation is stayed, overturned or repealed and the alleged practices reappear.

For now, attention has shifted toward implementation of India’s current restrictions. The proposed DGGI payment rules remain one part of that process, with authorities still working through questions about responsibility, verification and the handling of additional transaction data.

Source:

India Proposes New Rules To Trace Gambling Funds, LCB.org, September 11, 2026.