Probo Halts Real-Money Operations as India Passes Sweeping Online Gaming Ban

• Indian opinion trading platform Probo has suspended all its real-money gaming ( RMG) operations with immediate effect.
• The move is a direct response to the passage of India’s new Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, which effectively bans real-money online games.
• Probo has urged the government to reconsider a “blanket ban,” warning it will stifle innovation and push users to unregulated black market platforms.
• The company argues that “opinion trading” should be regulated as a financial tool for economic insight, similar to how prediction markets are overseen by the CFTC in the US.
• The new national law represents a major turning point for India’s gaming industry, creating a prohibitive environment for the real-money skill-based sector.

Probo, a prominent Indian opinion trading platform, has become the first major casualty of the country’s new national online gaming law, announcing the immediate suspension of all its real-money gaming ( RMG) operations.

The decision is a direct result of the passage of the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025. This sweeping new legislation introduces a central regulatory authority but also imposes a national ban on online betting and games involving real money, citing the risks of addiction and financial harm. Probo’s swift exit from the real-money space is the first concrete sign of the new law’s profound and immediate impact on the industry.

A Call for a ‘Balanced’ Approach

In a statement confirming the suspension, Probo said that while it respects the government’s decision, it believes a more nuanced approach is needed. “As unfortunate as it is, we respect the government of India’s latest Online Gaming bill,” the company said.

However, it also warned against the dangers of a “blanket ban,” arguing that such a move could limit industry growth and fail to protect consumers. “ Probo emphasises that a more balanced regulatory approach would better safeguard consumers, generate sustainable tax revenues, create jobs and prevent the migration of users to unregulated platforms,” the statement added.

The ‘Opinion Trading’ Distinction

Probo has consistently argued that its product should be distinguished from traditional gambling. Anurag Dhandhi, the company’s Business Head, highlighted that while India has characterised opinion trading as a “game,” other jurisdictions view it differently.

“In the United States, it has been regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as a Designated Contract Market,” Dhandhi said. “At its very core, opinion trading is a tool for economic insight that enables users to apply judgment, knowledge and analysis to real-world developments.” This argument, however, appears to have failed to sway Indian lawmakers.

A Turning Point for the Indian Market

The new national law is a watershed moment for India’s online gaming industry. For years, the real-money skill-gaming sector has operated in a legally grey area, relying on various court rulings that distinguished “games of skill” from “games of chance.” This new federal bill appears to override that distinction with a broad prohibition on all real-money online games.

The move follows increasing pressure from other regulators. In April, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) also “raised a red flag,” warning that opinion trading platforms could be offering illegal derivatives. With the passage of this new bill, the government has opted for a clear, prohibitionist stance, a decision that will dramatically reshape the country’s digital gaming landscape and likely fuel a significant expansion of the unregulated black market.