iWorld
Vodafone Sports: Changing the sports viewing landscape
MUMBAI: What do you get when one of the leading telecom players in the country joins forces with one of the biggest television network? The result is uninterrupted, curated and the best delivery of sports content on the go.
The partnership between Star India and Vodafone India will make available to consumers a first-of-its-kind service that brings the best on track, on court and on field action to feature phones as well as smart phones.
Star India COO Sanjay Gupta says: “Sports is something the network truly believes in, and we have put our money where our mouth is time and again.”
Vodafone Sports powered by starsports.com will offer customers premium live and curated in-depth content built around some of the most popular sports in India such as cricket, football, tennis, hockey, golf and motorsport. The portal (live.vodafone.in/sports) will feature cricket, football and hockey and will cover other major sports like F1, tennis, etc.
Star India head digital Ajit Mohan says: “Since the launch of starsports.com in June 2013, we have witnessed good traction among sports fans and have become the YouTube of sports in India.”
Launched in June 2013, starsports.com has become the go-to destination for following the best of international sports. It has in a way redefined the sports experience through a revolutionary video timeline that is a first of its kind in the world of sports, and allows the viewer to keep track of live sports as well as catch up on games with ease.
The company has also built an advanced technology infrastructure that enables HD quality streaming across multiple devices. It will now bring the power of the proposition to the most important screen in the country – the mobile, for Vodafone consumers.
“The fact that the content available on Vodafone Sports will be generated from starsports.com works well for the network as we will be able to reach the homes where TV sets and internet facility is not easily accessible,” Mohan explains.
Recent studies have shown that there are more mobile handsets in the country than TV sets in homes. With this strategic partnership with Vodafone, Star India has certainly played an ace card. It would now be able to propagate its message of supporting the growth of sports in the nation even better; reaching out to the millions of Vodafone subscribers and delivering live as well as curated content at an economical price.
“Our core business has always been services and after the success of Vodafone Music, we were looking at taking things to a whole new level,” expounds Vodafone CCO Vivek Mathur on the reason for partnering with Star India.
“India in many ways is in the forefront as far as mobile internet consumption is concerned. We are only second to Germany and we truly believe that mobile internet is the future. We were on the lookout for a partner with some terrific content to deliver and we are glad to have found that partner in Star India,” Mathur adds.
As a result of the tie-up with Star, customers using Vodafone Sports will have access to an exhaustive array of legal, unadulterated content at their fingertips, including all the latest news, trivia, scores and results, instant access to live matches, interactive video scorecards, exclusive insight and analysis, columns, photos and wallpapers across sports.
The interactive video scorecard, for example, will allow users to watch the fall of a wicket or replay individual innings highlights for a particular player right from the scorecard, so if you miss a pivotal, game-changing moment in a game, or a match-winning knock, you can replay it at the touch of a button. Apart from live games, customers will also be able to sample additional archived video content, such as the best of M.S. Dhoni’s sixes or Sachin’s straight drives, created from over 10,000 hours of cricket footage.
Gupta says: “Our aim is to change the way sports is perceived in the country. We need to change the mindset of people who feel that sports is a waste of time and resource and will not benefit in anyway. We continue to stay committed to building all sports and the best way to encourage young adults to play sports is to increase the consumption of sports.”
The service will be available exclusively to Vodafone consumers in attractive packages. The ‘Snack Pricing Plan’ will allow consumers to watch a single match for a minimal price of Rs 10 or 20; a curated video clip for Rs 3 or Rs 5 and also give them an opportunity to download wallpapers at as low a price of Rs 3.
The ‘All You Can Eat Plan’ will give the consumer a chance to sign up to enjoy watching a series and the price ranges between Rs 49, Rs 99 and Rs 150. This plan also allows the subscriber to enjoy archival videos of some of the best shots or sixes by a cricketer for Rs 30 or Rs 50 depending on the length of the clips.
And there is also an option to subscribe on a day-to-day and monthly basis at Rs 5 and Rs 150 respectively. Mathur says: “We want to encourage our customers to consume as much of sport as they wish to and thus we have tried to keep the prices very reasonable.”
This is certainly a giant step taken by the Star network in continuing to deliver on its promise of delivering the best in sports, but does it also plan to get its other properties on the digital platform in a big way?. Gupta clarifies: “We do have plans of taking a lot of our other properties on the digital platform in the near future, but currently we are focusing on sports as we as a network truly believe it has struck a chord with the youth of the nation and we will continue to deliver on our promise.”
The road ahead certainly looks very rosy for Indian sports fans and Star Sports as a network is certainly making a statement with such bold moves. Guess it’s time for other broadcasters to wake up and smell the coffee.
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.
