India’s Gaming Bill: Paving the way for a $50 billion export economy

​​I have shipped games and built tools at Zynga, Microsoft, Meta, AWS, and now Jabali.ai The pattern is clear: the breakthroughs happen at the interface where creators meet computation and at technology inflection points. With the Act behind us and UPI under us, India can ship faster, cheaper, and more uniquely than any market on earth if we keep the lanes separate and the rules light.

TL;DR

India just got the regulatory clarity it needed with the Online Gaming Act, 2025. Treat real‑money gaming (RMG) and non‑RMG video games as different lanes: regulate betting, not building.

If we pair that separation with three levers—AI‑native creation, UPI‑grade monetisation, and export‑first incentives—India can build a $50 billion annual games/interactive‑media export engine by 2030. Below I outline specific data, a policy playbook, and measurable outcomes.

Clarity → confidence

India is at a historic inflection point in its digital journey. The Indian Parliament’s Promotion & Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, draws a bright line: crack down on money‑stake games that harm consumers; support all other forms of online games.

This marks a decisive step towards building a safe, transparent, and globally competitive gaming ecosystem.

Much like how the telecom revolution of the 1990s unleashed unprecedented innovation, this regulatory clarity has the potential to position India not only as one of the world’s largest gaming markets but also as a $50 billion export economy in the coming decade.

For years, India’s online gaming sector operated in a fragmented environment, with inconsistent state-level interpretations often conflating skill-based gaming with betting and gambling.

The new regulatory framework provides a uniform national approach to protecting consumers, ensuring responsible play, and instilling investor confidence. This clarity is a precondition for global capital, IP development, and studio expansions to flow into India.

The global market opportunity

The worldwide gaming industry today stands at over $300 billion, larger than films and music combined. While India already has a staggering 600 million gamers, our exports of gaming content, technology, and services remain relatively small, under 5%.

Compare our situation with countries such as South Korea, Japan, and China, where structured regulation, coupled with government incentives, turned domestic gaming into multi-billion-dollar export industries. India now has the opportunity to replicate and leapfrog these success stories.

The India advantage

India’s unique advantages make it well-placed to emerge as the world’s next gaming hub. At the core is its demographic strength, a young, digitally native population supported by a deep pool of engineering and creative talent.

In fact, there are 600 million gamers in India, almost 2x the entire population of the United States. This is complemented by world-class digital infrastructure, with the lowest data costs globally and seamless monetisation enabled by UPI.

But perhaps the most exciting opportunity lies beyond traditional gaming.

India has the potential to pioneer “playable media” interactive experiences that merge entertainment, gaming, and commerce, opening up an entirely new category of exports that can set India apart on the global stage.

Unlocking the $50 billion export potential by 2030

For India to fully realise this opportunity, three priorities will be critical.

First, the country must encourage game development for global audiences. With regulatory clarity in place, studios can now invest confidently in original IPs that resonate not only with domestic gamers but also with international players.

Second, India should position itself as a global production hub. With cost-efficient, skilled talent, the country is well-placed to become the preferred base for publishers outsourcing game development.

Finally, India must foster cross-sector innovation, as gaming technology increasingly finds applications in film, education, e-commerce, and even governance. By incentivising such cross-sector adoption, India can expand gaming’s export potential far beyond entertainment alone.

As a scenario, India can achieve $50 billion in exports through a combination of games content, production services, playable media, tools and esports/education.

1. Games Content ($20B): S. Korea and China already spend double-digit billions on games every year. India can leapfrog with AI and specialise in Indian stories, folklore and culture.

2. Production Services ($10B): Incentives for small businesses and creatives to set up arbitrage + AI tooling → faster cycles, higher quality and better margins.

3. Playable Media ($10B): Pioneer new ads and engagement formats with “playable media” and shift to “time in world”.

4. Tools ($5B): SaaS, engines, marketplaces and middleware.

5. eSport and Education ($5B): Esports as export entertainment + gamified learning platforms for global markets.

The domestic market = R&D lab, UPI = monetisation superpower, and AI = 10× productivity. India’s comparative advantages line up with a category inflection that rewards speed, creativity, and cost elasticity.

Policy playbook

The goal is not to weigh creators down but to keep lanes clean (RMG ≠ non-RMG), protect IP in the AI era, unlock UPI-scale monetisation, and back the next wave of studios, esports orgs, and creator-entrepreneurs.

If we achieve this right, the Act becomes not a restriction but a springboard for a $50B export engine.

1. Codify separation: N‑RMG ≠ RMG. Ensure the Act’s ruleset clearly distinguishes video games & UGC platforms from money‑stake games. Keep compliance light for N‑RMG; keep enforcement strict for betting.

2. Copyright for human‑guided AI. Recognise human‑in‑the‑loop authorship for AI‑assisted assets; standardise dataset transparency and opt‑outs; create a fast path to register AI‑coauthored works.

3. Zero‑rating exports + micro‑payments. Maintain zero‑rated GST for digital exports; enable sub‑Rs 10 UPI Autopay at scale for DLC, subs, and creator tips.

4. Safety via self‑reg. Adopt a Code of Ethics (age‑gating, KYC where relevant, data safety, limits, audits). Use industry federations as the first line; escalate only for violations.

5. Skills & R&D. AI‑for‑Games Mission (GPU credits; model access for startups), university creator fellowships, and a public‑private “India Games Export Catalogue” refreshed quarterly.

6. Esports and creator welfare. Recognise an esports apex body for contracts and dispute resolution; model labour standards for creators.

The road ahead

The Online Gaming Bill is not the end of the journey; it’s the beginning. Regulation should be considered a launchpad for innovation, not a restraint. The government, industry, and investors must now work together to build an ecosystem that protects users, encourages responsible innovation, and unlocks global opportunities.

If India gets this right, gaming could become the country’s next big export story, standing alongside IT services, pharmaceuticals, and mobile manufacturing.

The difference this time is that the export focuses not only on services or products but also on cultural influence, creativity, and interactive experiences that can transcend borders.

India has the scale, talent, and digital backbone. With regulation bringing clarity, the time is right to aim for the $50 billion opportunity and cement India’s place as a global gaming powerhouse.

(Vatsal Bhardwaj is the founder of Jabali.ai, a no-code game creation platform. He has decades of leadership experience at companies such as Meta, Amazon, and Zynga)