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Weekly iGaming News Roundup: India, UK, USA & The World

India enforces a sweeping real-money gaming ban, the UK builds a new anti-black-market unit, Kalshi pours $2M into problem gambling, and a new report values the global unregulated gambling market at $5.9 trillion.

Category: iGaming Global Summary · By Growl Games Editorial Team · Thu May 21 2026 · Updated Thu Jul 23 2026

Weekly iGaming News Roundup: India, UK, USA & The World

Table of Contents

1. India: PROG Act Enforcement Reshapes the Online Gaming Sector

Sub-headline: Three weeks into nationwide enforcement of the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming (PROG) Act 2025, India's new Online Gaming Authority (OGAI) is now classifying platforms and policing payment flows tied to real-money games.

What's new this week

India's real-money online gaming sector remains in upheaval as the PROG Rules 2026, which came into force on 1 May 2026, continue to bite. Industry trackers reported on 14 May 2026 that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has moved into full enforcement mode, using the OGAI to direct banks and payment processors to block any flows tied to prohibited "online money games".

Why it matters

The framework imposes a complete ban on real-money online games — including fantasy sports, rummy, poker, and online casino — irrespective of whether they are games of skill or chance. According to government data, India's online gaming market generated ₹232 billion in 2024, with around 45 crore (450 million) users reportedly affected by money gaming platforms and aggregate user losses estimated to exceed ₹20,000 crore. Violators now face up to three years' imprisonmentand fines of up to ₹1 crore, rising to five years for repeat offenders.

Industry fallout

The BCCI terminated its ₹358 crore Dream11 jersey sponsorship after the law was passed, and Dream11 — once valued at $8 billion — has since lost roughly 95% of its domestic revenue and pivoted to a free-to-play model with international expansion into 11 countries. India has now blocked more than 8,376 illegal betting URLs, but offshore operators continue to evade enforcement through mirror domains and UPI workarounds, with experts estimating the offshore market at over $20 billion.

Legal status

The Supreme Court of India has deferred the constitutional challenge to PROGA to a three-judge bench, with the next hearing pushed to 21 January 2026 and still unresolved. Petitioners argue the Act erases the decades-old judicial distinction between games of skill and games of chance.

"BCCI and Dream11 are discontinuing their relationship." — Devajit Saikia, BCCI Secretary

2. United Kingdom: UKGC Hunts a £16.6 Billion Black Market with New Senior Role

Sub-headline: The UK Gambling Commission has opened applications for a brand-new "Head of Illegal Markets" role on a £65,000 salary, as H2 Gambling Capital data shows the unlicensed UK market has tripled since 2019.

The new role

On 13 May 2026, the UKGC announced a dedicated Head of Illegal Markets position — its first ever of its kind — tasked with shaping the regulator's strategic and operational response to unlicensed gambling in Great Britain. Applications close on 24 May 2026, with interviews scheduled between 5 and 9 June. The role will sit within the Operations Directorate and coordinate the Enforcement and Intelligence functions.

Why now

According to research from H2 Gambling Capital, cited by the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), the UK's unlicensed gambling market reached £16.6 billion in 2025, up from roughly £5 billion in 2019 — an increase of more than 230%. Acting CEO Sarah Gardner told the Bingo Association AGM on 7 May 2026 that £26 million in new government funding over three years will allow the regulator to confront land-based illegal gambling at meaningful scale for the first time.

Broader context

The hire comes amid a leadership transition — former CEO Andrew Rhodes stepped down on 30 April 2026 — and follows the Department for Culture, Media and Sport launch of an Illegal Gambling Taskforce chaired by gambling minister Baroness Twycross. The UKGC also reports 741 cease-and-desist notices and 1,134 site takedowns in 2025-26. Critics, including Entain CEO Stella David, argue the Commission has historically focused too heavily on licensed operators while the offshore black market expanded.

The new funding will allow the regulator to tackle illegal gambling "arguably for the first time in a serious way." — Sarah Gardner, Acting CEO, UK Gambling Commission

3. USA: Kalshi Pledges $2M to NCPG as Prediction-Market Scrutiny Mounts

Sub-headline: On 18 May 2026, prediction-market platform Kalshi announced a $2 million, two-year investment in the National Council on Problem Gambling, becoming the first member of a new "Financial Services & Trading" subcategory.

The announcement

The National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) confirmed Kalshi will fund a new Financial Trader Health and Safety Initiative covering equities, options, crypto, futures, and prediction markets. Kalshi joins as a Platinum-level member — placing it alongside operators such as DraftKings and FanDuel, both of which launched their own prediction markets in late 2025.

Why it matters

Kalshi is currently valued at roughly $22 billion and processed an estimated $9.1 billion in January 2026 trading volume alone, with around 91% of activity tied to sports event contracts. The platform took in $1.2 billion in trades on Super Bowl LIX. According to a Northwestern Mutual study, 17% of US adults currently use sportsbooks or prediction markets — rising to 32% of Gen Zand 24% of millennials. Critics note that Kalshi users crossed $100 million in parlay losses on the platform in 2026.

The regulatory backdrop

The donation lands two days before a Senate Commerce Subcommittee hearing titled "No Sure Bets: Protecting Sports Integrity in America" on 20 May 2026. Kalshi faces 19 federal lawsuits and active state-level cease-and-desist battles in Nevada, New Jersey, Ohio, and Connecticut. The Third Circuit recently ruled in Kalshi's favor against New Jersey, but the federal-vs-state preemption question is widely expected to reach the Supreme Court.

Kalshi is "deeply committed to setting a new standard for responsible trading." — Tarek Mansour, CEO, Kalshi

4. World: Unregulated Online Gambling Hits $5.9 Trillion — "Third-Largest Economy"

Sub-headline: A new Gaming Compliance International (GCI) report released on 18 May 2026estimates that unregulated online gambling reached $5.9 trillion in global wagering value in 2025 — larger than every national economy except the United States and China.

The headline number

The GCI Online Gaming 2025: Global report finds that unregulated platforms — covering unlicensed sports betting, online casino, poker, crypto gambling, and lottery — grew from $5.1 trillion in 2023 to $5.7 trillion in 2024 and now $5.9 trillion in 2025, a 4% year-on-year increase. GCI characterises the sector as the largest form of cybercrime worldwide.

The market split

According to the report, 78% of global online gaming gross gaming revenue (GGR) now flows through unregulated operators, with just 22% captured by licensed, taxed environments. GCI also introduces a third "unacknowledged" category covering sweepstakes platforms, social casinos, skins trading, TikTok contests, and prediction markets outside the United States.

Drivers and signals

GCI estimates unregulated gambling ads appeared on over 80% of illegal sports streams in the US and UK during 2024–2025, with traffic surges around March Madness and the World Cup. The annual growth rate has cooled from 12% in 2024 to 4% in 2025, but the absolute base still added roughly $235 billion in a single year.

What regulators say

GCI proposes an "MPEO" framework — monitor, police, enforce, optimize — for jurisdictions struggling to bring the offshore market inside the regulated perimeter. The findings echo regional data points, including the UK's £16.6 billion domestic black market and India's continued struggle with offshore operators despite blocking 8,376 URLs.

"Regulators are not facing a marginal challenge, but a dominant one." — Matt Holt, CEO, Gaming Compliance International

Sources

India

United Kingdom

United States

World

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