- India’s IT Ministry ordered VPN companies to block access to Polymarket
- Authorities government users use VPNs to bypass local betting restrictions
- Failure to comply can cost VPNs their “safe harbor” legal protection
India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has issued a new directive requiring virtual private network (VPN) providers to block access to illegal betting and prediction sites, specifically singling out the controversial platform Polymarket.
According to the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 (PROGA), real money online gaming and prediction markets are prohibited throughout the country. However, the government has observed that citizens easily bypass these domestic restrictions by routing their connections through VPN services.
According to the Indian Express, the notice warns that providers who fail to act may lose their “safe harbor” protection under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act. This crucial legal shield usually protects technical intermediaries from being held liable for the content their users access or generate.
Polymarket is a decentralized prediction market where users buy and sell contracts linked to real-world events. The nature of the platform has come under scrutiny recently after a US special forces soldier won $400,000 betting on the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, raising concerns about insider trading.
That said, Polymarket already “strictly prohibits the use of VPNs or similar tools to bypass geographic restrictions,” as the company states on its website.
The fight against offshore betting
According to the MeitY advisory, users circumvent the legal restrictions imposed on such platforms “by abusing VPN services to access these websites.”
The government noted that simply blocking websites at the ISP level has proven ineffective, stating that banned betting platforms remain easily accessible via a VPN connection. This, MeitY explains, makes blacklists on home websites pointless.
“MeitY hereby reiterates, with increased emphasis, that all VPN service providers and other intermediaries must make reasonable efforts not to host or store or allow access to such platforms that make illegal information available, including ‘Polymarket’ and such other similar infringing platforms that operate in violation of the law,” reads the guidance.
The government also highlighted that users engage in financial transactions through the conversion of Indian rupees into virtual digital assets such as USD Coin (USDC) or other stable coins — another way that enables citizens to “participate in such platforms despite domestic bans,” the guidance reads.
A “tricky” enforcement issue
Despite the firm regulatory stance, the Indian authorities acknowledge the technical difficulties of enforcing a VPN-level block.
IT Secretary S Krishnan recently admitted to The Indian Express that separating legitimate privacy-focused VPN traffic from illegitimate use was “difficult” and “an ongoing exercise.”
The Indian government has a history of clashing with privacy tools. Previous regulations have ordered VPNs to block access to websites that illegally reveal citizens’ data.
Furthermore, many major providers pulled their physical servers from the country following controversial data retention mandates, a move that prompted experts to slam enforcement in India.
For ordinary internet users in India, the latest advisory reinforces the precarious legal position of data protection tools in the region. While the use of a VPN remains strictly legal, the escalating pressure on providers to monitor user traffic could lead to further friction between the government and global cyber security firms.
