E-Paper
Parliament passes India’s first federal ban on online money gaming amid protests
The upper house passed the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025 in 26 minutes, a day after the Lok Sabha cleared it in seven minutes
New Delhi: The Parliament cleared the country’s first federal legislation banning online money gaming on Thursday, with the Rajya Sabha approving the bill through voice vote amid opposition protests over procedural concerns.
The upper house passed the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025 in 26 minutes, a day after the Lok Sabha cleared it in seven minutes. Both chambers approved the legislation without substantive debate, prompting opposition criticism over the lack of parliamentary scrutiny.
The law prohibits all online money gaming services, imposing penalties of up to three years imprisonment and fines reaching ₹1 crore for facilitators. Advertising such platforms carries sentences of up to two years and fines of ₹50 lakh.
“From time to time, society grapples with social evils. In these circumstances, it is the duty of the government and the parliament to probe and make laws to control them,” Union minister for electronics and information technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw told the Rajya Sabha, comparing online money games to drug addiction.
The minister cited government estimates that 450 million players have lost over ₹20,000 crore to online money gaming platforms.
Opposition members protested the expedited passage, chanting “vote chori, satta chori” (vote theft, power theft) and demanding debate time. Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge accused the government of denying discussion opportunities, while parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju said the opposition had refused to cooperate throughout the monsoon session.
Two CPI(M) MPs proposed 21 amendments seeking greater state involvement in regulation and investigation powers. John Brittas requested the bill be referred to a select committee for review. All amendments and the committee referral were rejected through voice votes.
The proposed amendments would have granted states equal powers with the Centre to regulate online money games and investigate offences, whilst ensuring state gambling laws remained in force. However, several amendments were not taken up after MPs were not present in their seats during voting.
The legislation addresses a regulatory vacuum that has allowed inconsistent state-level approaches to online gaming. Currently, states like Tamil Nadu and Karnataka ban online money gaming outright, while others like Sikkim and Nagaland require operator licensing.
The law encompasses fantasy sports platforms like Dream11, real-money rummy sites, and cash-prize gaming apps, all of which the government now classifies as “online money gaming” regardless of skill elements involved.
Industry bodies representing the ₹31,000 crore sector have called the ban a “death knell” for legitimate businesses, arguing it will benefit offshore operators whilst harming compliant domestic companies. The sector employs over 200,000 people and has attracted ₹25,000 crore in foreign investment since 2022, the industry’s representatives have told the government.
The bill promotes e-Sports as legitimate competition whilst completely prohibiting money-based gaming, marking one of the world’s strictest regulatory approaches to digital gambling.
The legislation now requires presidential assent to become law. Once enacted, it will establish a new regulatory authority to categorise games, issue compliance directions, and recommend blocking illegal platforms under the Information Technology Act.
The law comes amid an Enforcement Directorate investigation into celebrities promoting betting platforms and government action that has already blocked 357 offshore gaming websites and frozen ₹126 crore in associated accounts.
