The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill 2025 was introduced to Lok Sabha and passed successfully with an effort to promote e-sports and online social games, while putting up a blanket ban on online money gaming. The Bill mainly focuses on encouraging e-sports and online social games while also eradicating harmful online money gaming services, advertisements, and financial transactions. According to this bill, "offering, operating, or facilitating online money games, irrespective of whether based on skill, chance, or both."

While introducing the bill, Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw said, "When it comes to society, middle-class people, or a segment of industry. When it comes to society and the government revenue, our prime minister has always chosen the society. Never have we compromised on the interest of the society."

"Online gaming has three segments. First is e-sports which needs strategic thinking, team building, enhances cultural exchange...Second segment is online social games, be it Solitaire, Chess, Sudoku. They are educative and entertaining. They are widely played," Vaishnaw further said.

"There is a third segment, online money game, which is a cause of concern in society. There are people, there are families who got addicted to online money games. They lose their hard-earned money. Algorithms are sometimes such that it is different to know with whom you are playing. Algorithms are opaque."

"Many families have been devastated, many died by suicide," the minister said. Online money game is seriously affecting families, terror being financed, money being laundered."

However, there is another side to the introduction of this bill. Online gaming apps that have a large user base will surely take a hit. As per a report, more than 4 lakh employees are likely to be affected directly due to this legislation.

As per venture capital firm Lumikai, the Indian market will be valued at a staggering USD 3.6 billion by 2029.

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Indian Apps Likely To Get Affected

Dream11, the title sponsor of the Indian Cricket Team, has earned a household name due to its strong marketing. Valued at USD 8 billion, the app allows users to take part in the fantasy cricket games with as low as Rs 30. Other apps like Mobile Premier League (valued at USD 2.5 billion), My11Circle, Howzat, SG11 Fantasy, WinZO, Games24x7 (parent of My11Circle and RummyCircle), Junglee Games (covers Rummy & Poker), PokerBaazi and GamesKraft (also known as RummyCulture) are likely to take a hit as well.

No Punishment For Players

There will be no punishment for those playing online money games; it is only the service providers, advertisers, promoters, and those who financially support such games will face the consequences, said sources.

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"No punishment for those playing online games. No punishment to victims. Only punishment for service providers, advertisers, promoters and who support financially to such games," a source said on Wednesday.

Inputs from Agencies