New Delhi, Oct. 3 -- The Centre notified the draft Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming (PROG) Rules, 2025 on Thursday, outlining a comprehensive framework to regulate online gaming and inviting feedback and comments by October 31. The draft rules, issued under the recently enacted PROG Act that bans online money games, aim to draw a clear line between skill-based social games and money-based games while also establishing an institutional framework for oversight. Officials in the IT ministry had earlier said the rules would be published without public consultation. "We changed our minds due to requests from stakeholders," a ministry official said. At the heart of the draft rules is the creation of the Online Gaming Authority of India "as a corporate body with powers similar to a civil court to conduct inquiries and summon individuals" according to an explanatory note issued by the ministry on Thursday. The authority, as regulator of the industry, will register online social games and e-sports, maintain a national registry of approved games, and determine whether a game qualifies as a legitimate offering or as an online money game. Any game that involves wagering, stakes, or winnings that can be converted to cash will be deemed an online money game and barred from operating in the country. HTC...