The Indian government is now preparing to take strict action against online betting and prediction market platforms. According to reports, foreign platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi may be blocked in India. These are such platforms where people make predictions by investing money on cricket matches, elections, peace agreements and even the future of companies. The government believes that such platforms can increase problems like economic loss, addiction and money laundering. For this reason, preparations are now being made to tighten the legal noose against them.
What are Prediction Market Platforms?
According to The Print report, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) is expected to send a blocking order to Kalshi by Friday. The ministry has already sent a similar order to another prediction market platform, Polymarket.
Let us tell you that prediction market platforms are such digital platforms where users invest money on whether an event will happen or not. For example, people can bet on the result of the IPL match, the peace agreement between America and Iran, or even the IPO of a company. Polymarket and Kalshi are the most popular such platforms. According to the report, on May 7, about 27.7 million dollars i.e. approximately Rs 266 crore was traded on the match between Lucknow Super Giants and Royal Challengers Bangalore. However, it has not been confirmed how much money came from India. Apart from this, platforms like Bitclout, Hedgehog and PlotX are also active in similar markets.
Why is the government taking action?
In August 2025, the Government of India had implemented a new law related to online gaming, PROGA i.e. Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act. Under this law, strictness was increased on many real money online games and betting platforms. The government says that such platforms can increase problems like addiction, financial loss, suicide and money laundering among people. Both Kalshi and Polymarket allow users to make predictions by investing real money, hence they are also considered as online gambling platforms. Many domestic gaming companies have already closed or limited their business after this new law.
Warning to VPN companies
According to the report, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology had also issued a warning to VPN companies on 25 April 2026. The ministry had said that many users are accessing blocked prediction market platforms with the help of VPN. The government made it clear that if VPN companies help in providing access to such platforms, then legal action can be taken against them. According to reports, the government can use Section 69A of the IT Act to block these platforms. TikTok was also banned in India under this law. At present, Polymarket and Kalshi are still accessible on some internet networks in India, but soon they may be completely banned.
Also read: Now will it be easy to understand the language of dogs and cats? AI collar technology created a stir
Leave a Reply