The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, recently passed by the Indian Parliament and signed into law, establishes a strict legal framework for online gaming in India. It promotes esports and online social games but imposes a comprehensive ban on all online games involving real money stakes, citing concerns over social, financial, psychological harms, and risks to national security from activities like fraud and money laundering. The law prohibits offering, facilitating, advertising, or participating in online money games, with severe penalties including imprisonment and hefty fines. Notably, the bill removes the previous legal distinction between games of skill and chance, a significant shift from earlier court rulings that protected skill-based games like rummy and fantasy sports.
This new legislation marks a reversal from the government’s earlier pro-industry stance and contrasts with varied state-level regulations, some of which had allowed skill-based online gaming. Economically, the ban is expected to have a substantial impact, as the online gaming sector is a major contributor to India’s digital economy, generating $3.7 billion in revenue in 2024 and supporting over 100,000 jobs. The real money gaming segment accounts for 86% of this revenue, and the government anticipates a potential GST revenue loss of Rs 15,000 to 20,000 crore annually due to the ban.
