CCI closes Google real-money gaming case after online gaming ban
India’s competition regulator has ended its inquiry into Google’s Play Store and advertising policies for real-money gaming, saying the Online Gaming Act removed the market and left no meaningful remedy. Google had already withdrawn its pilot and related ad permissions.
What happened
CCI closed its antitrust inquiry into Google’s real-money gaming Play Store and advertising policies after the Online Gaming Act prohibited the market. Google
Key facts
- 2022
- 2024
- January 2026
- May 2026
- 21-page order
Why this matters
India’s online gaming ban materially reduces the strategic value of real-money gaming partnerships, acquisitions, and platform-distribution deals.
What to watch
- Publication of the Online Gaming Act's implementing rules, definitions of prohibited games and enforcement timelines.
- High Court or Supreme Court petitions challenging the ban or seeking clarity on skill-based formats.
- Google Play policy updates for India, including treatment of non-cash games, fantasy sports and offshore-linked apps.
- RBI, NPCI, bank or payment-aggregator actions on gaming merchant codes and transaction blocking.
- Changes in digital advertising demand, especially from gaming, fintech and entertainment advertisers in India.
- Google is likely to keep Play Store and advertising restrictions in place, emphasizing compliance rather than pursuing a market-access remedy.
- Indian gaming operators will redirect budgets toward legal challenges, non-cash social gaming, fantasy-adjacent products where permitted, and overseas markets.
- Payment firms, telecoms and digital-ad platforms may tighten monitoring of gaming-linked merchants, affiliates and high-risk transactions.
- Retail media and consumer internet platforms may compete for digital ad budgets displaced from real-money gaming campaigns.