iWorld
“ATTACK ON TITAN” & “Detective Conan” now available on Anime Times through Prime Video Channels
Mumbai: Anime Times Company, formed by 13 content rights holders including prominent Japanese publishers and anime studios like Avex Pictures, Kodansha, Shueisha, and Shogakukan, launched “Anime Times” as an add-on subscription on Prime Video Channels in India on 12 December 2023.
“Anime Times” is available to Prime members on Prime Video Channels as a dedicated premium Channel for anime – from current Japanese anime movie and television titles to beloved classics with English subtitles, Anime Times offers anime buffs access to the best of Japanese animation. A limited-time annual subscription of 449 rupees is being offered until 25 April!
Popular anime, “Attack on Titan” and “Detective Chan” now available on “Anime Times” through Prime Video Channels
[ATTACK ON TITAN]
Both season one and two of “ATTACK ON TITAN” are the first to be distributed on SVOD.
“ATTACK ON TITAN” celebrated its 10th anniversary with the airing of the first part of “The Final Season” on 3 March 2023, and the second part on 4 November 2023, in Japan, marking the culmination of a decade of broadcast. The popularity of this anime has not waned since its broadcast and it has continued to attract many fans around the world.
Season one story:
A world that is at the mercy of Titans…
Finding themselves now food for the Titans, humanity built a giant 50-meter wall to protect themselves, giving up the freedom. But one day, with the appearance of a Colossal Titan that was even taller than the wall, the people’s “peace” suddenly falls to pieces.
Season two story:
The Colossal Titan’s sudden appearance shattered humankind’s peace and their reveries. Ever since that day, Eren Jaeger has faced endless fighting… Yet, there is no time for Eren or humankind to rest. The next battle already looms near. How will humanity stand up to the horde of Titans approaching Wall Rose?!
[Detective Conan]
The TV series is being distributed on SVOD to celebrate the release of the new movie.
Story:
The son of a world-famous mystery writer, Shinichi Kudo, has achieved his own notoriety by assisting the local police as a student detective. He has always been able to solve the most difficult of criminal cases using his wits and power of reason.
[Others]
SPY×FAMILY Hindi dub version, NARUTO, Fairy Tale, Tokyo Revengers, Zom100 and ODDTAXI are also available. And many other anime series are scheduled to begin distribution one after another.
“Anime Times” to exhibit at Mumbai Comic Con 2024
Also “Anime Times” to exhibit at Mumbai Comic Con 2024 to be held on April 20 and 21.
Members of Anime Times can get two T-shirts, one from the popular anime “ATTACK ON TITAN” and the other from “Zombie Land Saga.
*Limited quantity / First-come, first-served basis.
In addition to the T-shirt giveaway, visitors will be able to participate in a raffle draw for anime goods at the booth. Official goods of “Detective Conan” and “Tokyo Revengers” will also be sold at the event. Registration for Anime Times will be available at the booth on event, but also pre-registration is possible through a special site. You can register for Anime Times at a 50% discount of 449 Rupees / year until
April 25. (Separate registration with Amazon Prime is also required)
Special site of Anime Times at Mumbai Comic Con 2024 https://animetimes.studio.site/
Overview of “Anime Times” on Prime Video Channels in India
Channel Name: Anime Times
Launch Date: December 12, 2023
Channel Price: Available to Prime members on Prime Video as an add-on subscription for an annual fee of Rs 899. A limited-time annual subscription of 449 rupees is also being offered until 25 April!
Prime Video Channels benefits for Prime members include:
No hassle login & billing: Customers do not have to juggle between multiple usernames, passwords and billing due dates. With Prime Video Channels, all premium content subscriptions are managed within a single destination – Prime Video apps and website.
More time watching, less time deciding: Customers donʼt have to spend time toggling between their favourite services to discover whatʼs new and popular. With Prime Video Channels they can browse in one place, search across all their premium subscription and get personalized recommendations. All of this without ever having to leave the Prime Video app or website.
Enjoy your favourite features, no matter which service: Customers can enjoy IMDbʼs X-Ray feature and a single consolidated watch list and download library for offline viewing. Subscribers can also manage data consumption and much more across all their premium channel subscriptions.
More choice: With Prime Video Channels, Prime members can access thousands of additional titles across 20 plus OTT services.
Gaming
India’s new online gaming rules take effect today, banning money games and creating a regulator
The rules, in force from today, separate e-sports from gambling and impose jail terms and stiff fines on violators
NEW DELHI: India’s online gaming sector woke up this morning to a new reality. The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Rules, 2026, came into force today, May 1st, turning a year of legislative intent into enforceable law. The message from New Delhi is blunt: e-sports and social games are welcome; online money games are not.
The rules operationalise the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming (PROG) Act, passed by Parliament in August 2025. Together, they represent the most sweeping regulatory intervention India has made in its booming digital gaming market, one that generated Rs 23,200 crore in 2024 and is projected to grow at a compound annual rate of 11 per cent to reach Rs 31,600 crore by 2027. The stakes, in every sense, could not be higher.
A sector out of control
The urgency behind the legislation is not hard to find. An estimated 45 crore Indians have been affected by online money gaming platforms, with losses exceeding Rs 20,000 crore. Addiction, financial ruin, money laundering, and suicides have all been linked to the sector. Seventy-seven per cent of the market’s revenues came from transaction-based games, a figure that made regulators deeply uneasy.
The government’s response, effective as of today, is categorical. Online money games, whether based on chance, skill, or any mix of the two, are banned outright. So is their advertising, promotion, and facilitation. Banks and payment processors are barred from handling related transactions. Unlawful platforms can be blocked under the Information
Technology Act, 2000.
The penalties are designed to sting. Offering or facilitating online money games can attract up to three years in jail and a fine of up to Rs 1 crore, or both. Repeat offenders face a minimum of three years, extendable to five, with fines between Rs 1 crore and Rs 2 crore. Advertising such games carries up to two years in prison and fines of up to Rs 50 lakh, with repeat violations attracting higher penalties still. Cyber cell officers at state and union territory levels, including at police station, district, and commissionerate levels, are empowered to investigate offences.
The new sheriff in town
At the centre of the new framework sits the Online Gaming Authority of India, a digital-first regulator constituted as an attached office of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, headquartered in Delhi. It is chaired by the additional secretary of MeitY and includes joint secretary-level representation from home affairs, finance, information and broadcasting, youth affairs and sports, and law and justice, a deliberately multi-sectoral design built for a complex sector.
The authority’s powers are broad. It will maintain and publish lists of online money games, investigate complaints, issue directions, orders, and codes of practice, hear appeals on user grievances, and coordinate with financial institutions and law enforcement to ensure effective and timely action.
Its decisions on game classification are to be completed within 90 days, a time-bound commitment that industry players have welcomed after years of regulatory ambiguity. Classification can be triggered by the authority acting on its own initiative, by an application from a service provider, or by a notification from the central government. Games will be assessed on objective factors: whether stakes are involved, whether players expect monetary winnings, the revenue model, and whether in-game assets can be monetised outside the game. The outcome is recorded in a determination order specific to the game and provider.
E-sports gets its moment
While the crackdown on money gaming dominates today’s headlines, the rules also carve out a structured path for e-sports and online social games. Registration, required when notified by the central government, applies to all games offered as e-sports and is based on factors including risk to users, scale, financial transactions, and country of origin. A successful application yields a digital certificate of registration with a unique number, valid for up to ten years. Service providers must display registration details, designate a point of contact, comply with data retention requirements, and follow directions on facilitating payments.
Online money games are explicitly ineligible for recognition or registration as e-sports under the National Sports Governance Act, 2025. The separation is deliberate, and the industry has noticed.
Akshat Rathee, co-founder and managing director of NODWIN Gaming, called today’s operationalisation “encouraging,” pointing to publisher-led registration of esports titles and a time-bound determination process as creating “much-needed certainty for all stakeholders.” He added that the “continued emphasis on clearly separating esports from online money gaming is critical in preserving the integrity of competitive gaming as a skill-driven discipline.” He described it as “a proud moment to see official acknowledgement of the broader benefits of responsible esports and gaming, from building confidence, discipline, and teamwork to creating new career pathways for young talent,” and said the framework sets “a strong foundation for the ecosystem to scale in a more structured and globally competitive manner.”
Animesh Agarwal, co-founder and chief executive of S8UL, was equally bullish. “This clarity is critical in unlocking investor confidence and attracting multi-genre brands, while also enabling organisations to take a more long-term view, whether in investing in talent, scaling teams, or building globally competitive formats,” he said, adding that it “strengthens trust among audiences and mainstream stakeholders, positioning esports not just as a sport, but as a fast-growing youth entertainment category in India.”
But Agarwal urged caution on several fronts. There remains limited clarity around financial frameworks, particularly in how esports earnings are treated by banks and financial institutions. A well-defined pathway for the formal recognition or registration of esports teams is still evolving, as are structured player protections. He also called for smoother visa processes for esports athletes competing in international tournaments and for government support in developing infrastructure, including bootcamps, training facilities, and access to high-performance equipment across titles.
Vishal Parekh, chief operating officer of CyberPowerPC India, pointed to downstream effects on education and careers. “With formal recognition and policy backing, colleges and institutions are more likely to take the sector seriously, whether through dedicated esports infrastructure, training programmes, or curriculum integration,” he said, adding that this helps students view gaming as a viable career spanning roles across competitive play, content, game development, and allied industries. He noted that as esports gains prominence in global multi-sport events, the framework strengthens India’s position in international competitive gaming, and called on the ecosystem to provide the right infrastructure and access to high-performance hardware to unlock opportunities in talent development and job creation.
Protecting users, one safeguard at a time
The rules introduce a layered system of user protections calibrated to the risk profile of each game. These include age verification, age gating, time restrictions, parental controls, user reporting tools, counselling support, and fair-play and integrity monitoring. Service providers must disclose their safety features and internal grievance mechanisms when applying for determination or registration.
A two-tier grievance redressal system sits atop these safeguards. Users who are dissatisfied with a platform’s resolution can escalate to the authority within 30 days. The authority aims to dispose of such appeals within a further 30 days. A second appeal lies before the secretary of MeitY, who must also endeavour to resolve matters within 30 days. Enforcement proceedings will be conducted in digital mode wherever possible, with cases targeted for resolution within 90 days from receipt of a complaint.
Penalties under the framework are proportionate, taking into account gain from non-compliance, loss to users, the gravity of the offence, and whether violations are recurring. Mitigation efforts by service providers will also be considered when determining penalties. All penalties imposed under the Act will be credited to the Consolidated Fund of India.
The money follows the rules
For investors and founders, the implications are immediate and significant. Sagar Nair, head of incubation at LVL Zero Incubator, a 100-day sprint designed to accelerate early-stage gaming startups across India, argues that with real-money gaming now prohibited, capital will shift “away from transaction-driven models toward content-led, IP-driven, and global-first gaming businesses.” He acknowledged trade-offs: for operators with exposure to real-money formats, the market becomes more restrictive in the near term. But he argued that by clearly separating esports and non-money gaming from online money gaming, “India is positioning itself as a hub for responsible, creative, and scalable game development.” The opportunity, he said, is “to view India not just as a monetisation-first market, but as a talent, IP, and scale market,” adding that “for founders and investors willing to adapt, this shift could ultimately strengthen India’s position in the global gaming landscape.”
The government frames the wider impact in equally ambitious terms: a boost to India’s creative economy and digital exports, new career pathways for young people, protection for families from predatory platforms, and a stronger voice in global digital governance. India, it argues, offers a model for other countries grappling with the same tensions between gaming’s economic promise and its social risks, one that shows innovation and strong safeguards need not be mutually exclusive.
Whether the framework delivers on those promises will depend on enforcement, always the hardest part. But from today, the architecture is firmly in place: a regulator with teeth, a classification system with deadlines, penalties designed to deter, and a clear dividing line between games that build careers and games that destroy finances. For a sector that has grown fast and governed itself loosely, May 1st, 2026 is the day the free ride ends.
