# Responsible Gaming in India: Help, Limits and Facts Source: https://cricketin.org/responsible-gaming [By Neha Bhattacharya](/authors/responsible-gaming-officer), Responsible Gaming Officer. [Reviewed by Rajeev Sathe](/authors/editor-in-chief), Editor-in-Chief. Updated 25 Aug 2026. Editorial policy: https://cricketin.org/editorial-policy 18+ Betting money on cricket carries a direct risk of financial loss, and it can become an addiction. Real-money online gaming is banned across India under the PROG Act 2025, which came into force on 1 May 2026. If betting is already costing you money you need, or sleep, or people close to you, the free Tele-MANAS helpline is **14416**, and it runs in 20 languages. Our [page on help for gambling harm](/guides/help-for-gambling-harm-india) lists what else exists. --- Verified help lines for gambling harm in India, the limits you can set on your phone and bank today, and an honest note on what does not exist. India has no helpline built only for gambling harm that we could verify. The general lines do work for it. Tele-MANAS is free and runs day and night on 14416 in 20 languages. Card switches at your bank and Screen Time or Family Link on your phone are the limits you can set in the next ten minutes. Below: the lines we checked with their owners and sources, the gap we could not fill, the tools that actually block spending, and how to ask one person close to you for help. ## What this page is for This is the hub for harm. It holds the help numbers we checked ourselves. It also holds the limits you can set today, on your own phone and in your own bank app. You do not need a diagnosis to use it. You do not need to call anything a problem. If money is going out faster than you planned, that is enough reason to read on. We keep the wording plain on purpose. People often read pages like this late at night, after a bad hour. Short lines are easier to hold on to. ## Where this project stands Real-money online gaming is banned across India. India has banned real-money online games since 1 May 2026. That is when the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 came into force. Rules under it were notified in April 2026 ([Nishith Desai Associates](https://nishithdesai.com/research-and-articles/hotline/gaming-law-wrap/setting-the-rules-of-the-game-indias-online-gaming-law-comes-into-force-15586)). The ban reaches offshore sites that serve players in India. Section 6 of the same Act bans advertising these games, directly and indirectly. The penalty runs up to two years in prison and up to a fine of ₹50 lakh ([PRS India](https://prsindia.org/billtrack/the-promotion-and-regulation-of-online-gaming-bill-2025)). So we name no operator, rate nothing and link to no app. Our full read of the law sits on [our page on the PROG Act](/legal/prog-act-2025-explained). The short answer to the legality question is on [the 2026 legal status page](/legal/online-betting-law-india). ## Help lines we checked ourselves Each line below was confirmed on the owner's own page or in a government release. We opened every source. Where a source left something blank, we say so instead of guessing. None of these lines is built only for gambling. They are general mental health and counselling lines. You can still use them. Say plainly that betting is the problem. **Table 1. Help lines we were able to verify, with owner and source** | Line | Number | Who runs it | Hours and languages | |---|---|---|---| | Tele-MANAS | 14416 or 1-800-891-4416 | National Tele Mental Health Programme, Government of India | Free, round the clock, 20 service languages ([PIB, Nov 2025](https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2199421®=48&lang=2)) | | KIRAN | 1800-599-0019 (see note below) | Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities | 24x7, 13 languages ([PIB launch release](https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1651963)) | | Vandrevala Foundation | +91 9999 666 555, call or WhatsApp | Vandrevala Foundation, a charity | Free, 24 hours, every day ([Vandrevala Foundation](https://www.vandrevalafoundation.com/free-counseling)) | | iCALL | 9152987821, or 022-2552 1111 | School of Human Ecology, Tata Institute of Social Sciences | Free, Monday to Saturday: 10 am to 8 pm on the mobile line, 8 am to 10 pm on the landline ([iCALL](https://icallhelpline.org/), [TISS](https://tiss.ac.in/view/6/projects/icall-telephonic-counselling-service-for-individua/contact-us-6/)) | | Gamblers Anonymous | Delhi group hotline +91 88269 04945 | Peer fellowship, not a clinic | Meetings listed in Thane, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai and Dombivli ([Gamblers Anonymous](https://gamblersanonymous.org/international-meetings/?state&country=india&weekday&term=146)) | | NIMHANS Centre for Well Being | 080 2668 5948 | NIMHANS, Bengaluru | Hours and languages are not published on the NIMHANS page ([NIMHANS](https://www.nimhans.ac.in/departments/service-for-healthy-use-of-technology)) | One number needs a note. One PIB press release about KIRAN prints 1800-500-0019 next to 1800-599-0019 ([PIB](https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1651963)). Every other official source gives only 1800-599-0019 — the launch release headline ([PIB](https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1652240®=48&lang=2)) and the department’s own helpline list ([DEPwD](https://depwd.gov.in/en/others-helplines/)) — so that is the number to dial. Longer notes on each line, and what the first call sounds like, are on [our page about getting help in India](/guides/help-for-gambling-harm-india). ## There is no national gambling helpline we could find We looked for one line, run by the government, made only for betting harm. We searched government press releases and the published helpline lists of two ministries. We did not find one. That was the state of it on 23 August 2026. What we keep checking: whether any central or state department runs a helpline dedicated to gambling harm, and under which scheme. Until someone shows us the order or the release, we will not print a number for it. Some countries do have such a service, funded by law. India does not, as far as our search goes. That gap matters, so we state it instead of filling it with a number that looks close enough. ## Limits you can set today Most useful limits do not come from a gambling site. They come from your phone and your bank. Both are in your hands right now. - Your bank must let you switch card transaction types off and change your limits. That includes online use. The facility runs day and night, through the app, net banking, an ATM or an IVR menu ([Reserve Bank of India](https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/NotificationUser.aspx?Id=11788&Mode=0)). - On an iPhone, Screen Time can block apps, block new downloads and block named websites by web address ([Apple](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/block-apps-app-downloads-websites-purchases-iph3ff83f3b1/ios)). - On Android, Family Link can block an app or cap its daily minutes, and can hold new Play installs for approval ([Google](https://support.google.com/families/answer/7103028?hl=en)). Every one of these can be undone by the person who set it. That is the honest weakness. Ways to make the setting harder to reverse are covered on [our page on self-exclusion and deposit limits](/guides/self-exclusion-and-limits). ## How to talk to someone close to you Most people try to fix this alone first. It rarely holds. A second person changes the odds, even if that person only knows the balance. Keep the first talk small. Pick a quiet time, not right after a loss. Say one true sentence about money. Then stop and listen. Ask for one concrete thing. Holding your card. Sitting with you while you call 14416. Checking in on Sunday. A single task is easier to accept than a promise about the future. If you are the family member, do not start with a lecture. Ask what the debts are. Then ask what help would look like this week. The signs to watch for are listed on [our page on early warning signs](/guides/signs-of-gambling-addiction). ## What we do not do We are a publisher. We are not a clinic and not a helpline. Nobody here can diagnose you or treat you. We do not read messages at night. We do not rank operators, list bonuses or link to any app. We do not tell you a bet is safe or a system works. We do not publish a number unless we found it on an official page. Clinical wording only appears with the source next to it. Gambling disorder is a real code in the World Health Organization's classification, 6C50 ([WHO](https://www.who.int/teams/mental-health-and-substance-use/alcohol-drugs-and-addictive-behaviours/terminology)). Deciding whether it fits you is a clinician's job, not ours and not a web page's. How we check things, and what we refuse to publish, is set out in [our editorial policy](/editorial-policy). ## The money side of the harm Harm is not only about mood. It shows up in a bank statement first. Two money facts are worth knowing before you count your losses. Winnings from online games are taxed at a flat 30% under Section 115BBJ of the Income-tax Act ([Income Tax Department](https://www.incometaxindia.gov.in/w/section-115bbj)). Tax is also cut at source on net winnings, with no minimum amount, so even a small win is covered ([Income Tax Department](https://www.incometaxindia.gov.in/w/winnings-from-online-games)). The detail sits on [our TDS explainer](/legal/tds-on-winnings-india). Second, money sent to an unlicensed platform can freeze. Getting it back is slow and often fails. That risk is described on [our page on frozen payments](/guides/payment-freeze-and-chargebacks). ## Tell us if a number here is wrong A dead helpline number is worse than no number. If you call one of these and it does not work, tell us. We will check it and change the page. Write to us through [the contact page](/contact). Fixes are logged in public on [our corrections log](/corrections). Other explainers live in [our guides section](/guides). ## Questions people ask ### Is there one number I can call right now? Yes. Tele-MANAS on 14416 is free and open at any hour. It is a general mental health line, not a gambling line. Say that betting is the reason you are calling. The service runs in 20 languages ([PIB](https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2199421®=48&lang=2)). ### Can this website close my betting account for me? No. We hold no account and have no link to any platform. We can only show you the tools you control, such as your bank card switch and your phone settings. ### Do I have to give my name when I call a helpline? Government pages describe these lines as free counselling services, and callers pick a language and a state before being connected ([PIB](https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1651963)). What each line asks for is not spelled out on those pages, so ask the counsellor at the start of the call. ### My family member bets and will not talk about it. What can I do? You cannot force a change. You can protect shared money, keep records of what is owed and call a counselling line yourself. Gamblers Anonymous lists one open meeting in Hyderabad, which family and friends may attend and observe ([Gamblers Anonymous](https://gamblersanonymous.org/international-meetings/?state&country=india&weekday&term=146)).