An India-facing sportsbook and casino advertising a real-money welcome bonus that is now a criminal offence to offer under India's 2025 Online Gaming Act
Not available lawfully hereIs Desi legal in India?
No. Real-money gambling is banned in India. Under the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act 2025 (PROGA), in force since 1 October 2025, Desi cannot lawfully offer you a welcome bonus here, and you cannot lawfully claim one.
PROGA bans all real-money gaming nationwide and criminalises its operation, promotion and financial facilitation. Banks, UPI and card networks are barred from processing money-gaming transactions, and by 28 March 2026 the government had blocked or actioned 8,376 betting and gambling URLs. source
Any Desi bonus you see advertised for India is offered from an offshore site operating against local law. Your payments can be blocked, your account can vanish with a mirror domain, and no India regulator can help you recover funds. We therefore show no offer and no sign-up link on this page. See every licensed betting site in India →
Pros
Cons
- Real-money gaming is now a criminal offence to offer to Indian players under the 2025 Online Gaming Act
- No confirmed operating company or licence found
- No independent complaint-platform coverage found
Our verdict
We want to be direct: any real-money welcome bonus previously advertised by Desi to Indian players is now illegal to offer under India's Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, in force since 1 May 2026, which bans real-money gaming nationwide and carries criminal penalties for operators, including up to 3 years' imprisonment. Given this outright legal ban plus the unresolved ownership and licensing questions, we'd recommend against using Desi or any similar real-money platform targeting Indian players until the legal situation changes.
How we rated it
Sportsbook & casino (36%)3
No independent verification of the product could be confirmed, and any real-money sportsbook/casino product now falls under India's nationwide 2025 ban regardless of quality.
Trust & licensing (27%)2
No confirmed operating company or licence found, and the brand appears to continue operating in defiance of a national law banning real-money gaming outright.
Support & reliability (18%)2
No independent complaint-platform coverage was found to assess reliability.
Bonuses & value (18%)1.5
The advertised real-money welcome bonus is now illegal to offer to Indian players under the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, in force since 1 May 2026, carrying criminal penalties for operators.
Quick facts
| Legal status | India's Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 bans all real-money online gaming nationwide, in force since 1 May 2026, with penalties up to 3 years' imprisonment and INR10 million in fines |
| Owner/licence | Zero-trace - specific operating company and licensing jurisdiction not independently confirmed |
| Bonus status | Previously advertised 150% up to INR20,000 (sports) / 150% up to INR12,000 (casino) - now a criminal offence to offer under the 2025 Act |
| India | Real-money gaming, betting, and wagering are completely banned nationwide as of 1 May 2026 |
How we verified this
One thing we could not establish: who owns and operates this brand. The rest of this review is sourced, but an operator we cannot name is one you cannot hold to account.
The Online Gaming Act, 2025's nationwide real-money gaming ban, its 1 May 2026 enforcement date, and its criminal penalties are confirmed via independent legal-analysis sources and Wikipedia's sourced summary of the Act. Desi's specific operating company and licensing status could not be independently confirmed and are reported as an unresolved gap.
Where Desi is licensed
Desi appears on the official register in 1 countries. Highlighted countries have a full local review — pick yours for its welcome bonus and licence details.
Asia (1)
About Desi
We want to correct a legally significant issue directly rather than continue advertising it as before: Desi previously offered a real-money welcome bonus (150% up to INR20,000 for sports, 150% up to INR12,000 for casino) to Indian players, but India's Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 - passed 22 August 2025 and in force since 1 May 2026 - completely bans real-money online gaming nationwide, whether based on skill or chance, along with its advertisement and associated financial transactions. Operators offering such games now face up to 3 years' imprisonment and fines up to INR10 million. We could not independently confirm Desi's specific operating company or licensing jurisdiction beyond this, and found no independent complaint-platform coverage to assess its reliability.