No real money play as Lok Sabha passes bill to regulate online gaming, betting apps

Economic Times

14 hours ago

Synopsis
The Lok Sabha has passed the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, establishing a legal framework and safeguards for players in the online gaming industry. The bill bans online games involving monetary stakes due to concerns about addiction and financial losses, while esports and social games remain permissible with subscription-based access. Violators could face imprisonment and fines.
Agencies Online Gaming Bill 2025 The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, aimed at establishing a legal framework for the fast-growing industry and introducing safeguards for players.The legislation, introduced earlier in the day by Union Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw amid Opposition protests, was cleared a day after the Cabinet approved it. The Bill imposes a blanket ban on online games involving monetary stakes, citing addiction, financial losses and related suicides among youth as key concerns.It prohibits all forms of online betting and gambling, including fantasy sports, card games such as poker and rummy, and online lotteries. It also bans advertisements promoting such games and bars banks and financial institutions from processing or facilitating related transactions. Under the law, an 'online money game' is defined as one played by a user after depositing money with the expectation of monetary gain.
The government has clarified that esports and social games will remain permissible, with subscription-based access allowed but without the promise of financial returns. Offering or facilitating such games will be punishable with imprisonment of up to three years and/or a fine of up to ₹1 crore, once the Bill clears both Houses of Parliament.Officials said the law distinguishes between permissible and prohibited gaming segments. MeitY Secretary S Krishnan explained that while real-money gaming apps would be curbed 'in the larger public interest,' esports and social games would remain allowed, with subscriptions permitted but without monetary returns. He described the measure as a 'societal decision' and noted that concerns about job losses had been weighed against the risks posed by money gaming.
Industry voices and experts also welcomed the move as a protective step. 'The new Online Gaming Bill is more than regulation, it is protection. Online money games have left children and youth vulnerable to exploitation and serious mental health risks,' Apollo Hospitals vice chairperson Preetha Reddy wrote on X.