TLDR India blocked Kalshi on June 17, 2026, after classifying event-based trading as illegal online gambling under new 2025 gaming laws. Kalshi updated its member agreement to ban users located in India following a formal warning from India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. India had been a high-value market — one domestic cricket match alone generated over $27 million in trading volume. Kalshi now lists 55 restricted jurisdictions, including Brazil, Spain, Indonesia, Argentina, and Portugal. The core dispute is whether prediction markets are financial instruments or gambling platforms — a debate regulators outside the US are largely settling against Kalshi.
Prediction market platform Kalshi has blocked users in India after the country’s new online gaming law came into force, adding another major market to its growing list of restricted jurisdictions.
India’s Online Gaming Law Shuts the Door
India’s Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act 2025 took effect on May 1, 2026. The law targets digital platforms that offer money-based games tied to uncertain outcomes — a category Indian authorities say includes event-based trading platforms like Kalshi.
On April 25, 2026, India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology sent Kalshi a formal notice. It warned the company that continuing to allow Indian users to trade on the platform would violate the new rules.
Kalshi did not immediately restrict access on its own. In response, Indian authorities ordered internet service providers to block Polymarket, Kalshi’s main competitor, and warned VPN providers against helping users get around the ban.
Facing potential national blacklisting and legal risk for payment processors, Kalshi updated its member agreement on June 17. The new terms explicitly bar users based in or domiciled in India from trading event contracts.
A Costly Market to Lose
India was not a minor market for Kalshi. A single