Is Desipoly regulated by SEBI or any Indian regulator?

No. Desipoly is not a SEBI-regulated exchange, not a licensed gaming operator, and does not hold any Indian regulatory licence. It is hosted offshore and does not accept INR.

Can I use Desipoly from India?

Accessing an offshore website from India is not in itself a criminal act, but remitting money abroad for speculative purposes can raise FEMA considerations, and any gains from crypto are taxable at 30% under Section 115BBH plus 1% TDS under Section 194S. You are responsible for complying with the laws of your jurisdiction and should consult a qualified advisor.

Does Desipoly accept INR?

No. All deposits, trading, settlement, and payouts are in USDC on Polygon. Desipoly never custodies Indian Rupees. There is no INR on-ramp or off-ramp.

Is this financial or legal advice?

No. This page is educational only. Laws change, personal circumstances differ, and only a qualified Indian tax and legal advisor can tell you what applies to your situation.

Guides · Core explainer

Is Desipoly legal in India?

This page is educational, not legal or tax advice. Laws change. Consult a qualified Indian advisor before using any offshore financial product.

The short version

Desipoly is an offshore, crypto-settled prediction market. It is not SEBI-regulated, not a licensed Indian gaming operator, and does not accept INR. The service is provided from outside India to users who self-certify they are permitted to use it in their jurisdiction.

What Desipoly is not

Not a stock exchange, commodities exchange, or derivative product under SEBI.
Not a real-money gaming operator under any Indian state gaming law.
Not a fantasy-sports app — see prediction markets vs fantasy sports.
Not a sportsbook — see prediction markets vs sports betting.
Not a broker, bank, or custodian of INR.

Why USDC-only matters

Because Desipoly never accepts INR, it is not providing a rupee-facing financial service in India. Users trade from their self-custodied crypto wallets with USDC on Polygon. The platform does not have access to Indian banking rails, UPI, or card networks.

The flip side is that getting USDC in and out may involve intermediaries (exchanges, bridges) that do fall under Indian regulation. That is your responsibility. See USDC and crypto settlement.

FEMA considerations

The Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) and RBI's Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) govern how Indian residents can send money abroad. Remittances for "remittance out of lottery winnings" and "remittance for purchase of lottery tickets, banned/proscribed magazines, football pools, sweepstakes" are prohibited under Schedule I of the FEM (Current Account Transactions) Rules.

Prediction markets are not explicitly addressed in that list, but Indian residents should be conservative and consult a qualified advisor before using crypto to fund offshore speculative activity.

The crypto tax regime

Section 115BBH of the Income-tax Act taxes income from the transfer of "virtual digital assets" at a flat 30%, with no set-off for losses. A 1% TDS applies to VDA transfers above specified thresholds under Section 194S. These rules are likely to apply to gains on prediction-market positions paid out in USDC.

Record-keeping matters: keep transaction hashes, timestamps, USDC values in INR at the time of each trade, and on-ramp/off-ramp statements. Talk to a CA who knows crypto.

State-level gaming laws

Several Indian states (Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka at various points) have enacted laws restricting or prohibiting online "real money games." These laws apply to licensed Indian operators and to users within those states. They generally do not address offshore, crypto-settled prediction markets, which exist in a separate legal space — but residents of those states should still exercise caution.

NRIs and diaspora

Non-resident Indians and the diaspora are governed by the laws of where they live — the US, UK, UAE, Singapore, etc. Many of those jurisdictions have explicit prediction-market regimes or crypto-trading rules. The onus is on you to check.

User responsibility — plainly stated

You are responsible for whether you are permitted to use Desipoly where you live.
You are responsible for your tax filings on any gains.
You are responsible for the custody and security of your crypto wallet.
Desipoly is a pre-launch product. Live trading begins after a stealth beta with 30–50 invited traders.