Did BGMI Got Banned in India?

After BGMI disappeared from the Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store on July 29, 2022. The Indian players were left with a question – did BGMI got banned in India? In this article, we will share the current status of BGMI in India, while sharing official statements from respective stakeholders. 

Did BGMI Got Banned in India?

Yes! BGMI got banned in India on July 29, 2022, under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000. At the time of writing this article, the game has been removed from the Indian Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store. 

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So far, there is no direct indication from the Indian Government that states why BGMI was removed from the respective stores and whether the game was permanently banned or is a temporary ban done in response to the different court cases and petitions that we have against BGMI and PUBG in general in the Indian courts. 

Here is what the Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 states – 

“Where the Central Government or any of its officer specially authorized by it in this behalf is satisfied that it is necessary or expedient so to do, in the interest of sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States or public order or for preventing incitement to the commission of any cognizable offence relating to above, it may subject to the provisions of sub-section (2) for reasons to be recorded in writing, by order, direct any agency of the Government or intermediary to block for access by the public or cause to be blocked for access by the public any information generated, transmitted, received, stored or hosted in any computer resource.”

“The procedure and safeguards subject to which such blocking for access by the public may be carried out, shall be such as may be prescribed.”

“The intermediary who fails to comply with the direction issued under sub-section (1) shall be punished with an imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven years and shall also be liable to fine.”

Here is what BGMI developers, Krafton, had to say on the ban – 

Krafton, the developers behind BGMI and original PUBG, responded with the following statement, “We are clarifying how BGMI was removed from Google Play store and the App store and will let you know once we get specific information.” 

Google also released a statement confirming the removal of BGMI from Google’s Play Store. Here is what they had to say – 

In a statement, Google’s Spokesperson said, “On receipt of the order, following the established process, we have notified the affected developer and have blocked access to the app that remained available on the Play Store in India.”

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At current, the players who have BGMI installed on their devices can still play the game. However, any sort of microtransactions and other things have been blocked. 

BGMI was available on the Android and iOS platforms.