IMPS Casinos
IMPS casinos are online casinos that took deposits through India's Immediate Payment Service, a route Indian banks and payment firms have been barred from processing for real-money games since 1 May 2026. Skip IMPS for casino deposits if your account sits with an Indian bank or wallet, because the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 forbids your bank or wallet from processing the payment.
IMPS itself stays legal and runs 24x7 for everyday transfers between Indian accounts. The ban covers payments for online money games, which the Act defines as any online game where a player stakes money expecting a cash return, whether the game rests on skill, chance or both.
This guide explains how IMPS works, what the 2025 Act changed, and which payment methods players in Australia use at casinos instead.
IMPS | At a glance |
|---|---|
Full name | Immediate Payment Service |
Run by | National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) |
Launched | 2010 |
Availability | 24x7, including bank holidays |
Per-transfer limit | About A$7,500 on internet and mobile banking |
How you send | Mobile number with MMID, or account number with IFSC |
Fees | Set by each bank or wallet |
Casino payments from India | Barred since 1 May 2026 |
Australian equivalent | PayID on the New Payments Platform |
What Is IMPS?
IMPS is NPCI's real-time payment service that moves money between Indian bank accounts and RBI-authorised wallets instantly, around the clock. Use it for rent, bills or family transfers if you bank in India, because it settles straight away on Sundays and bank holidays too.
NPCI launched IMPS in 2010, 6 years before UPI. A sender addresses a payment in 1 of 2 ways: the payee's mobile number plus a 7-digit Mobile Money Identifier (MMID), or the payee's account number plus the branch IFSC code.
NPCI caps each IMPS transfer at about A$7,500 on every channel except SMS and IVR, which carry lower caps. Fees are left to each member bank and wallet, so the cost of a transfer depends on who holds your account.
Can You Use IMPS at Online Casinos?
No, IMPS deposits at real-money online casinos have been off-limits from India since 1 May 2026, when the Online Gaming Act and its 2026 Rules took effect. Leave any casino that still lists IMPS in its cashier alone if you bank in India, because the Indian bank or wallet behind the payment is barred from processing it.
Parliament passed the Act on 21 August 2025, and it received presidential assent the next day. Section 5 bans offering online money games, Section 6 bans advertising them, and Section 7 bars banks, financial institutions and payment providers from processing or authorising funds for them.
The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Rules, 2026 were notified on 22 April 2026 and apply from 1 May 2026. They require banks and payment intermediaries to check a game's determination order or registration certificate from the Online Gaming Authority of India before they authorise any payment for it.
3 Offences the 2025 Act Punishes
The Online Gaming Act punishes 3 groups: operators who offer online money games, anyone who advertises them, and anyone who facilitates their payments. Read the payment offence closely if an IMPS casino deposit of yours has bounced, because it carries the same penalty as running the casino.
- Offering an online money game – up to 3 years in prison, a fine of up to about A$150,000, or both. A repeat conviction brings 3 to 5 years and a fine of about A$150,000 to A$300,000.
- Advertising an online money game – up to 2 years in prison, a fine of up to about A$75,000, or both. A repeat conviction brings 2 to 3 years and a fine of about A$75,000 to A$150,000.
- Facilitating payments for an online money game – the same scale as offering one, with up to 3 years and about A$150,000 on a first conviction.
The ban on online money games in India doesn't depend on the payment method, so switching from IMPS to UPI, cards or crypto leaves the game itself just as prohibited.
Is the IMPS Casino Ban Being Challenged?
Yes, the Supreme Court of India is hearing constitutional challenges to the Act, and the ban has applied since 1 May 2026 while they run. Plan around the ban rather than the court case if you bank in India, because a pending petition changes nothing at your bank today.
On 8 September 2025, the Supreme Court transferred every challenge filed in the Delhi, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh High Courts to itself. In August 2026 it agreed to start the final hearing of the petitions, which argue that a blanket ban covering skill games such as poker clashes with the protection of lawful business.
IMPS vs PayID
IMPS and PayID are both 24/7 instant bank transfer systems, IMPS for Indian accounts and PayID for Australian ones. Use PayID if you've moved to Australia and want instant casino deposits from a local account, because IMPS only moves money between accounts inside India.
Feature | IMPS | PayID |
|---|---|---|
Country | India | Australia |
Run by | NPCI | Australian Payments Plus, on the New Payments Platform |
Launched | 2010 | February 2018 |
Address a payment by | Mobile number with MMID, or account number with IFSC | Phone number, email address or ABN |
Speed | Instant, 24x7 | Usually under 1 minute, 24/7 |
Casino deposits | Barred from India since 1 May 2026 | Offered by many casinos that accept Australians |
Our guide | This page |
6 Casino Payment Methods for Players in Australia
The 6 casino payment methods we cover for players in Australia are PayID, Neosurf, MiFinity, Jeton, Bitcoin and Tether (USDT). Pick one that pays withdrawals if you want a single method for both directions, because Neosurf and other prepaid vouchers only handle deposits.
- PayID – instant transfers from an Australian bank account using a phone number or email address
- Neosurf – prepaid voucher for cash-funded deposits
- MiFinity – e-wallet with Australian dollar balances
- Jeton – e-wallet with no fee on Apple Pay, Google Pay or bank transfer top-ups
- Bitcoin – crypto deposits and withdrawals without a bank in the middle
- Tether (USDT) – dollar-pegged stablecoin that moves on several networks
These guides are written for players located in Australia and don't apply to anyone playing from India.
IMPS Casino FAQs
Is IMPS the same as UPI?
No, although NPCI runs both. UPI arrived in 2016 and addresses payments with a virtual payment address, while IMPS uses a mobile number with MMID or an account number with IFSC, and Section 7 of the 2025 Act covers money-game payments on both.
Can I send money from an Indian account to an Australian casino by IMPS?
No, IMPS only moves money between accounts and wallets inside India. It has no route to a foreign bank or a casino account held overseas.
Does the ban apply to NRIs living in Australia?
The ban follows the Indian bank or wallet that processes the payment, not the place the account holder lives. An NRE or NRO account is still run by an Indian bank, so Section 7 stops it from sending funds to a real-money gaming site.
Which online games does the 2025 Act still allow?
E-sports and online social games without money stakes. Sections 3 and 4 of the Act provide for both, and the Online Gaming Authority of India issues registration certificates valid for up to 10 years.
How long does the Online Gaming Authority take to rule on a game?
The 2026 Rules give it 90 days to decide whether a game counts as an online money game. Users have 30 days to complain to the Authority about a problem, and the appeal body has 30 days to decide an appeal.
Why do IMPS transfers to casinos fail now?
Since 1 May 2026, banks and payment intermediaries must see a determination order or registration certificate before they authorise funds for an online game. Online money games are banned outright, so a casino deposit has no certificate to show and the bank refuses it.
Final Thoughts on IMPS Casinos
IMPS is a fast, round-the-clock Indian bank transfer that no longer works as a casino deposit method from India. Use it for everyday payments if you bank in India, and treat any casino still offering IMPS as operating against Indian law.
NPCI built IMPS in 2010 for instant transfers between Indian accounts. The Online Gaming Act ended its use for real-money gaming on 1 May 2026 by barring banks and payment providers from handling money-game payments, with prison terms of up to 3 years for a first offence.
For players in Australia, PayID fills the same instant-transfer role from a local bank account, and our payment guides list the casinos that accept it.
