The much-awaited regulations are seen shaping the future of India's gaming sector that research firm Redseeer estimates will be worth $7 billion by 2026, dominated by real-money games. Tiger Global and Sequoia Capital have in recent years backed Indian startups Dream11 and Mobile Premier League, popular for fantasy cricket. Chance games - considered akin to gambling, which is mostly banned across India - were set to stay under the purview of individual state governments which would be free to regulate them, Reuters has previously reported. Modi's office and the IT ministry, which is drafting the rules, did not respond to a request for comment. One of the government sources said Modi's administration continues to be concerned about potential addiction of such platforms.

---