India’s lower house of parliament passed a sweeping online gaming bill on Wednesday. The bill promotes esports and casual gaming without monetary stakes but imposes a blanket ban on all real-money games. This legislation threatens to disrupt billions of dollars in investment and could significantly impact the real-money gaming industry, leading to widespread shutdowns.
Titled the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, the legislation aims to prohibit real-money games nationwide, whether based on skill or chance. It also bans the advertisement of these games and any associated financial transactions.
India’s IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in Parliament that the bill gives priority to the welfare of society and aims to avoid a major evil that is creeping into society. The proposed legislation restricts banks and other financial institutions from allowing transactions for real-money games. Anyone offering these games could face imprisonment for up to three years, a fine of up to ₹10 million, or both. Celebrities promoting such games could be liable for up to two years of imprisonment or a fine of ₹5 million.
Vaishnaw said the decision to bring the legislation was to address several incidents of harm, including cases where individuals reportedly died by suicide after losing money in games. However, industry stakeholders largely attribute these incidents to offshore betting and gambling apps, which many believe will not be addressed by this new law.
Meghna Bal, director of the New Delhi-based think tank Esya Centre, stated that this law is bound to face litigation as it fails the test of proportionality under Article 19(1)(g) of India’s Constitution, which guarantees citizens the right to practice any profession or carry on any occupation, trade, or business. She said the law dismantles compliant onshore companies while opening the door wider for illegal offshore betting platforms that are the real source of financial harm.
Ahead of the bill’s introduction, industry bodies wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to intervene. The letter warned that the proposed legislation could benefit illegal offshore gambling operations while forcing Indian businesses to shut down. These industry bodies represent companies like Dream Sports, MPL, WinZO, Gameskraft, Nazara Technologies, and Zupee.
The industry bodies estimated that real-money gaming startups in India have a combined enterprise valuation of ₹2 trillion, generate cumulative revenues of ₹310 billion, and contribute ₹200 billion annually in direct and indirect taxes. They project a 28% compound annual growth rate that would double the industry’s size by 2028. The industry groups warned that the blanket ban could result in the loss of more than 200,000 jobs and the closure of over 400 companies.
Publicly listed Nazara Technologies, which has invested in real-money gaming platforms, saw its share price fall 12.84% on Wednesday. The company clarified that it has no direct exposure to real-money gaming businesses and that these platforms do not contribute to its revenues.
The bill was passed by voice vote in a noisy lower house less than seven minutes after it was introduced for debate. It now requires approval from the upper house and the president to become law.
Meanwhile, some companies in casual gaming and esports have welcomed the move. Sumit Batheja, CEO and co-founder of Ginger Games, said the decision allows them to focus on building great intellectual property for India and the world rather than explaining their business model.
Akshat Rathee, co-founder of esports company NODWIN Gaming, said the law needs to have clear distinctions between esports, online gaming, online social gaming, and online money gaming that are uniformly understood to avoid ambiguity.
Meghna Bal also stated that the bill decimates esports, as a government authority would decide the validity of esports, presenting grave implications for the broader animation, visual effects, gaming, and comics sector.
In 2023, the Indian government amended its IT rules to curb user harm from real-money games and proposed self-regulatory bodies. However, that approach faltered due to conflicts among industry stakeholders. New Delhi also imposed a 28% tax on online gaming in 2023, which prompted an outcry from investors. Recent reports suggest that tax may be revised upward to 40% under new rules.
Rohit Kumar, a founding partner of public policy firm The Quantum Hub, said the real problem with the new bill is a lack of due process. He stated that regulation is necessary, but abrupt moves like this undermine India’s reputation as a stable, predictable investment destination.