iWorld
Netflix India shares what worked for the platform in 2020
NEW DELHI: Since its launch in 2016, Netflix has been making substantial inroads in India. Initially, despite having a massive content library, it would still lose out to rival streaming services because of its pricier subscription plans. With the twin aims of retaining users after the one-month free trial and widening its subscriber base, Netflix last year introduced its mobile membership plan, priced at only Rs 199 per month.
In its last earnings call, the CEO of the streaming platform stated that India is a priority market for them. It has been working tirelessly to attract Indian audiences to sample the platform. A week ago, Netflix held StreamFest, where it offered free access to its content across the country with the objective to create buzz and get newer audiences.
The streaming platform also has an extremely active social media platform that continuously keeps the audiences engaged with its witty and funny tweets, YouTube community posts and collaborations with influential Indian vloggers and content creators.
In a recent blogpost, Netflix India VP content Monika Shergill shared some insights into ‘What India Watched in 2020.'
She began with stating that India has the highest viewership of films on the platform globally. “It’s no surprise that we love films in India. India has the highest viewing of films on Netflix globally and over the last year, 80 per cent of our members in India chose to watch a film every week.”
While Extraction, Malang and The Old Guard were the most popular action films, Raat Akeli Hai was the thriller that kept audiences on the edge of their seats.
“Ludo was the most popular comedy film. Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo (Telugu), Kannum Kannum Kollaiyadithaal (Tamil), Kappela (Malayalam), and Uma Maheswara Ugra Roopasya (Telugu) are among many other films that featured in India’s Top 10 row,” she added.
There is no doubt that OTT platforms have created a level playing field for the new talent in the industry. Netflix’s original shows and movies include top actors and fresh blood.
Shergill shone the light on strong female leads that viewers admired. “We gravitated towards stories with strong female characters across genres and formats. The inspiring story, Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl, was the most popular drama film in 2020. The other popular films and series in India this year included Guilty, Masaba Masaba, Bulbbul, She, Miss India, Never Have I Ever and Emily in Paris,” she wrote.
“Talented new actors became the face of clever scammers in Jamtara: Sabka Number Aayega. This thriller became the Indian title to feature the longest on the Top 10 row in India. And we saw one of our favourite actors return as Ayyan Mani in Serious Men, one of the most popular drama films this year. Confused because your fan loyalties may be shifting? Well, you are not alone,” added Shergill.
Shergill went on to note that the viewing for non-fiction series on Netflix in India grew more than 250 per cent in 2020 over 2019.
“The most popular non-fiction shows that got us hooked were Too Hot to Handle, Indian Matchmaking and the recently released Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives. Documentary viewing also grew more than 100 per cent in 2020 over 2019, and Bad Boy Billionaires, The Social Dilemma and Money Heist: The Phenomenon were the most popular documentaries on Netflix in India this year,” read the blog by Shergill.
As they say, all we need is love. Shergill mentioned that Love Aaj Kal, Ginny Weds Sunny and Mismatched were some of the most popular romantic films and series that made us swoon this year. “In 2020, the viewing for romantic stories on Netflix in India increased by roughly 250 per cent compared to 2019,” added Shergill.
In the kids genre, she wrote that the viewing of kids titles increased more than 100 per cent in India in 2020 over 2019.
“The kids adored traveling to outer space with Over The Moon, which was the most popular kids’ title on Netflix in India in 2020. The kids also loved to discover the meaning of a family with The Willoughbys and Boss Baby: Back in Business (S4) and grooved with Feel the Beat. Special mention to the lovable Mighty Little Bheem (S3) that featured in the top 10 lists in the most number of countries globally,” she stated.
Great stories can come from anywhere. Indian audiences also keenly watched a lot of international content across languages. “This year, we explored stories from around the world, making the best use of subtitles and dubs. The German series Dark made our world go forward and back and then back and forward and then some, and the Spanish series Money Heist, made us wish that we were in the bank when Tokyo, Berlin, the Professor and many others took over. Dark was on the top 10 row in India for 95 days and Money Heist featured on our top 10 row for 170 days. The Turkish series The Protector is among the most popular titles in the fantasy genre this year and was also the non-Indian, non-English title that was viewed the most with subtitles and/or dubs. Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back-Evolution, Blood of Zeus and One-Punch Man (S2) were the most popular anime titles in India this year.”
Interestingly, the viewing for K-dramas on Netflix in India increased more than 370 per cent in 2020 over 2019, shared Shergill. Some of the most popular K-titles in India included The King: Eternal Monarch, Kingdom (S2), It’s Okay to Not Be Okay and Start-up.
The platform is growing massively in India and is teaming up with multiple partners to bundle its offerings. It is working to make payment processing easier and seamless. Overall, the company added 2.2 million subscribers worldwide in the quarter ended 30 September.
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.
