RMG ban fails to shake India’s iGaming market growth: Expert
India’s iGaming sector is at a turning point. The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 (PROGA) rattled the industry as it forced operators to follow stricter rules while demand continues to increase. In a brief moment, investors invested in Brazil, yet India quietly advanced and became the world’s most valuable iGaming market. Now, sophisticated investors are paying close attention.
To understand what’s really happening behind the headlines, Japneet Singh Sethi, a global iGaming advisor covering global markets, exclusively speaks with SiGMA News. With a vantage point that spans regulation, investment sentiment, technology, and competitive strategy, Sethi offered a candid, no-holds-barred read on where India stands, where the smart money is going, and what the industry must do to stop leaving opportunity on the table.
Market expansion: Beyond regulation
The recent PROGA Act 2025 undeniably shook acquisition channels in India’s iGaming market. But Sethi argues that the disruption has created a cleaner, more durable opportunity for those willing to think beyond the obvious. While regulated pathways took the hit, unregulated channels have remained resilient, driven by demand that no legislation has been able to suppress.
Sethi stated, “The future is not just about building an iGaming brand but also owning the ecosystem behind the brand. Multiple businesses have already pivoted to other verticals that will help them acquire user data. Once the country has more favourable laws, it will be easier for iGaming operators to scale overnight.”
Social gaming: The next big loophole
With the law now on the table, the industry is waiting on one critical thing: clarity. Sethi points to the urgent need for regulators to define what social gaming and esports mean in the Indian context, a definitional gap that is currently stalling entire business models.
Sethi explained, “Businesses could also explore social casino and social betting with sponsored prizes as an angle to social gaming. Businesses are for profit, and it is necessary to allow for some leeway so that the investors are not discouraged completely. India is a big market, and the potential is huge; the current situation is an opportunity. Someone needs to get creative.”
Brazil’s hype vs. India’s reality
Brazil briefly seemed like the next big thing. It appeared ready to challenge India’s hegemony after being recently regulated, thriving, and receiving a lot of investor interest. However, the data presented a different picture, and the market ultimately brought everything down to earth.
Sethi noted, “Brazil was a talk-of-the-town for a while when it was regulated, and everybody believed that it would be the biggest market, but eventually India emerged as a bigger market hand-down. Investors are wary of the Brazilian market now, while India continues to be the number one preference.”
AI, data & automation: The new battleground
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer a buzzword in iGaming; it’s a cost line and a revenue line rolled into one. Sethi explains how AI has meaningfully reduced operational overhead, freeing up budget that operators are funnelling straight into marketing. But the bigger story is what’s happening at the data layer.
Sethi observed, “Every unique user is mapped right from the moment of registration till the last deposit. It’s done to provide the best experience and recommend games and promos based on the user’s playing behaviour and activity. Any fraudulent activity can be singled out based on years of data and a dedicated risk & fraud analysis team.”
India must stop being a spectator
Global operators are circling India. The irony is that Indian companies risk ceding ground to outsiders unless they move quickly to globalise their own story. Sethi is passionate about this point, and it shows.
In the future, India will create its own iGaming frameworks instead of just implementing foreign ones, claims Sethi. He makes several obvious recommendations, including inviting operators from the UK and Europe to observe their advanced regulatory systems, holding more international conferences in India, and using India’s market dominance as leverage rather than merely a selling advantage.
Sethi expressed, “We need to realise that we have the biggest market at hand and that we need to use the power of this market to represent ourselves globally. It excites me when I think about how we could set precedents for the world out there and come up with new models of regulation for the industry.”
Long-term growth strategy
Sethi believes India is, by any metric, one of the most lucrative iGaming markets in the world. He believes that blanket bans, such as those under PROGA ACT 2025, not only restrict operators but also create uncertainty for international investors who might otherwise be willing to commit significant funding.
The alternatives were there and are still available. Similar to how other federal markets have managed gaming, state-based regulation would have maintained investment flow while enabling diverse policies. Frameworks for player protection and responsible gaming would have taken care of the societal issues that initially prompted the law. These are not radical ideas; they are proven models from markets India is currently borrowing from.
Sethi emphasised, “India is a very lucrative market, and operational risks like these are the last thing any business would want.”
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