The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology will host payment companies and banks on Monday to untangle refund and chargeback backlogs left by the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, according to industry executives briefed on the agenda.
Razorpay, PhonePe, Stripe, RBL Bank and Yes Bank attended an earlier session with a deputy RBI governor that focused on separating legal esports transactions from banned real-money formats. The follow-up roundtable is the first direct engagement with gaming operators since many apps shut the day presidential assent arrived.
Why wallets are stuck
When real-money gaming firms collapsed overnight, millions of users held unused balances. Banks froze some merchant accounts while investigators mapped which flows were wagering versus skill gaming. Payment aggregators face dual pressure: honour consumer refunds quickly and avoid re-routing settlements to offshore betting sites that still target Indian phone numbers.
Executives told InfoHandle that chargeback timelines were never designed for a sector-wide shutdown. A single disputed UPI collect request can take weeks to reconcile when the merchant entity no longer exists. MeitY wants a standard operating procedure before a draft online gaming policy goes out for public consultation.
Offshore apps still exploit Indian rails
Security researchers have documented mirror websites that pose as fantasy sports portals while routing deposits through mule accounts. The RBI’s recent cyber warnings align with MeitY’s push to choke those channels at the settlement layer rather than chasing domains. Banks asked for more time to validate bulk refund files without triggering anti-money-laundering alerts.
Operators that pivoted to casual games still need clarity on know-your-customer retention and data deletion. The Monday meeting is unlikely to produce instant payouts, but it signals that the government views payment integrity as part of enforcement—not a side issue for customer care teams.
What users should expect
Players with documented balances should keep transaction IDs and bank SMS records. Payment apps may ask for affidavits before crediting wallets. Until MeitY publishes the consultation draft, do not assume that every app claiming “skill gaming” is licensed.
For the wider fintech sector, the episode is a case study in how fast legislation can outpace bank operations. Monday’s roundtable is a belated attempt to align the two—and to keep illegal offshore betting from filling the vacuum left by domestic shutdowns.
Consumer courts in Delhi and Bengaluru have listed petitions from players seeking wallet refunds, adding judicial timelines to an administrative problem. Officials are expected to share a draft consultation paper after Monday’s meeting, giving operators thirty days to comment on licensing tiers for casual and esports formats.