India’s Online Gaming Bill, 2025 Passed

India’s Online Gaming Bill, 2025 Passed

KAKALI DAS

The Indian government has taken a major decision that has sent shockwaves across the country. It has banned real money online gaming. This includes fantasy sports, poker, rummy, and other card games where people deposit money with the hope of winning more money in return.

President Droupadi Murmu has given her assent to the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, a day after it was cleared by the Rajya Sabha.

Overnight, thousands of players, companies, and industries connected to online gaming are facing huge losses, and there is fear that at least 20,000 jobs could be lost directly, while lakhs more will feel the impact indirectly. The companies in this sector are very big and very important, with billions of dollars invested, and their sudden shutdown has left many questions unanswered.

The new law is called The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill 2025. As the name suggests, it deals with online gaming but specifically targets games that involve real money. It makes all forms of betting and gambling on the internet illegal, including fantasy sports platforms. This means apps like Dream11, My11Circle, Mobile Premier League (MPL), WinZOGames, JungleeGames, Pokerbaazi, and many others cannot operate anymore in their existing format.

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All fantasy 11 cricketing apps, card games like poker and rummy, and any platform that allows money deposits with the promise of winning more money have been outlawed.

The effects of this decision are not limited to the gaming industry alone. Advertising is one of the first sectors to feel the heat. Real money gaming platforms are among the biggest advertisers in India. They spend over ₹10,000 crore every year on advertisements, especially during big sporting events like the Indian Premier League (IPL). Dream11 and My11Circle are some of the largest sponsors of Indian cricket. Dream11 contributes about ₹358 crore annually, while My11Circle has paid ₹625 crore for IPL rights.

With these companies now unable to spend on ads or sponsorships, this money will disappear. The loss will hit not only the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) but also broadcasters like Jio Star, who depend heavily on these funds. The question people are now asking is – who benefits from this decision, and who will carry the burden of the losses?

The size of the Industry makes the decision even more shocking. The combined valuation of these gaming startups is more than $23 billion, or about 2 trillion Indian rupees. According to industry estimates, around 2,00,000 jobs could vanish and more than 300 companies may shut down. Nazara Technologies, for example, has significant investments in platforms like Pokerbaazi.

Reports say it has invested nearly ₹800 crore in Pokerbaazi, which might now become worthless if the ban continues. This has already shaken the stock market. Shares of Nazara Technologies have fallen by 11%, and Delta Corp shares have dropped by about 5% within just two days of speculation about the ban.

The online gaming Industry had been growing at a very fast pace. It was expected to reach a valuation of $9.2 billion by 2029. Currently, it employs more than 1,30,000 skilled workers across the country. Legal experts have also weighed in on this. Ganesh Prasad, a partner at Kaitan and Company, told Live Mint that the industry has always been worried about a blanket ban because it puts regulated skill-based platforms in the same category as predatory gambling models.

Courts in the past had recognized that games like rummy, poker, and fantasy sports involve a level of skill and are therefore different from pure gambling. This bill ignores that distinction and treats everything as gambling, which many people believe is unfair.

The bill was introduced by Ashwini Vaishnav, the Minister of Information Technology, and passed quickly in both Houses of Parliament without much debate. This happened because opposition members were outside protesting about the electoral rolls in Bihar. The bill itself is extremely harsh in terms of punishment. It says that offering any kind of online money gaming can lead to up to three years in prison and a fine of ₹1 crore.

Advertising such games is punishable with two years in prison and a fine of ₹50 lakh. Even banks and payment apps are barred from processing transactions related to these games. That means in-app purchases or payments to play these games are no longer possible.

Facilitating financial transactions for online money gaming can also bring three years of prison and a ₹1 crore fine. Repeat offenders face harsher penalties, and key offences are non-bailable and cognizable, meaning police can arrest without a warrant.

Industry bodies like the Indian Gaming Federation, the E-Gaming Federation, and the Federation of India Fantasy Sports have raised strong objections. They have written to the Home Minister, Amit Shah, pointing out that this is a sunrise sector with a valuation of over ₹2 lakh crore and contributes around ₹20,000 crore every year in direct and indirect taxes. They argue that the industry was growing at a healthy annual rate of 20% and could have doubled by 2028. By banning it outright, the government risks losing jobs, taxes, and investments.

At the same time, not everyone is against the bill. Some sections of the gaming industry have welcomed it. For example, Nodwin Gaming Co-founder Akshat Rathee said that the government’s move to promote e-sports and social gaming is a good step. According to him, the harmful effects of real money gaming have overshadowed the positives, and the new law creates space for safer, healthier gaming alternatives.

The government’s main argument is that online money gaming has become a serious public health issue. Minister AshwiniVaishnaw said that addiction to such games can cause financial distress, anxiety, depression, sleep problems, and even suicides.

The World Health Organization has classified gaming disorder as a disease. Families have been ruined when people spent their entire savings on online games, hoping to win more, and ended up in debt. Some tragic cases of suicide have also been linked to online gaming addiction.

The government says its intention is not to punish users but to target the people and companies who offer these services. The logic is similar to how narcotics are treated – users are considered victims, while sellers and promoters are punished.

The minister also said that the government had tried to propose a self-regulatory framework earlier, but it failed. That is why they felt a strict law was necessary. The government wants to encourage two formsof gaming – e-sports and social gaming – while removing real money gaming completely.

Still, many important questions remain unanswered. First, if the government truly believed that real money gaming was as dangerous as narcotics, then why allow it to grow so big in the first place? These companies were not operating secretly. They were sponsoring the country’s biggest sports events, including cricket and IPL, with the knowledge and approval of authorities. Why was action delayed until the industry became so huge, with billions of rupees and lakhs of jobs at stake?

Second, the issue of skill versus chance remains unresolved. Courts earlier ruled that fantasy sports, rummy, and poker involve skill, not just chance, and are therefore not gambling. This blanket ban goes against those judicial rulings. Will this stand up in court?

Third, there is a constitutional question. Article 19(1)(g) of the Indian Constitution gives every citizen the right to practice any trade or occupation. By banning an entire sector, is the government violating the rights of founders, entrepreneurs, and employees of these companies? Moreover, gambling and gaming are state subjects, not central subjects. Some states allow lotteries, some do not. If gaming is under the control of states, does the Centre even have the right to impose this kind of blanket ban?

There are also economic concerns. With 20,000 direct jobs and more than 1,30,000 workers employed in the industry, how will these people survive if companies shut down? Investors in listed companies like Delta Corp and Nazara Technologies will suddenly lose money because the government has overnight declared their businesses illegal. These are not fly-by-night operators; they are listed on the stock market and have existed for years.

What happens to shareholders and retail investors? Sports bodies, IPL franchises, and broadcasters who depended on sponsorship and advertising revenue from these companies are also going to take a big financial hit. Do they have any rights in this matter?

Another important question is whether the government has solid data linking online money gaming to addiction, suicides, or financial ruin. Without hard evidence, such a sweeping law could face challenges in court. If the government argues that this law protects people from harm, it will need to show actual numbers proving how widespread and dangerous the problem is.

Finally, there is the issue of enforcement. Even if such games are banned in India, can the government stop users from accessing them through VPNs or underground networks? Parts of the internet cannot be easily monitored, and people determined to play these games will always find a way. If that happens, the ban could push the industry underground, making it even harder to regulate and possibly more dangerous for users.

This decision raises so many questions and has sparked heated debate. On one side, the government insists it is protecting society from addiction and harm. On the other side, the industry and many experts argue that this is an overreaction that destroys jobs, investments, and innovation, while also ignoring the difference between skill-based games and pure gambling.

The larger Issue here is balance. How do you protect people from harm while also allowing industries to grow responsibly? Shouldn’t the government have focused on stronger regulations, age restrictions, spending limits, and better monitoring instead of a complete ban? And if the concern is about gambling, should fantasy sports and skill-based games be lumped together with it?

For now, the ban is in place, and the future of real money gaming in India looks uncertain. But one thing is clear, this is not the end of the story. Court battles are likely, companies will lobby hard, and the government will face pressure from investors, sports bodies, and even state governments. Whether this law truly protects society or ends up hurting the economy more remains to be seen.

But the central question remains for us as citizens: do you believe real money online gaming is so harmful that it should be treated like narcotics, banned completely, and wiped out of existence? Or do you think there was a middle path that the government could have taken to regulate and control the industry without destroying it?

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