A bill has been introduced in the Parliament of India to regulate social and educational online gaming and prohibit online gambling.
The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill (2025) was introduced today (20 August) by Ashwini Vaishnaw, India’s Minister of Railways, Information & Broadcasting, and Electronics & Information Technology.
The aim of the bill is to promote and regulate the online gaming sector, including e-sports, educational games and social gaming, and to delineate “online money games” as a prohibited activity.
The bill defines online money games as: an online game, irrespective of whether such game is based on skill, chance, or both, played by a user by paying fees, depositing money or other stakes in expectation of winning which entails monetary and other enrichment in return of money or other stakes.
Advertising and promotion of real-money games, such as sports betting, slots and online rummy, would also be prohibited, as would facilitating payments to and from unlicensed online gambling sites.
The bill proposes the establishment of a new national online gaming regulator which would be responsible for developing regulations, as well as licensing and enforcement.
Offering online money games would be punishable by a term of up to three years in prison for a first offence and five years for repeat offences, while advertising illegal gambling would be subject to two years in prison.
The bill also states that the liability of corporate online money games providers extends to every person who at the time of the offence was in charge of, and was responsible for, the conduct of that part of the business.
If the offence was committed without their knowledge, the company’s director, manager, secretary or other officer would be liable.
Minister Vaishnaw notes in his statement of objectives that online gaming has become an important means of engagement for the youth of the country, while the online gaming sector has emerged as one of the fastest-growing components of the creative economy, contributing significantly to innovation, employment generation and export earnings.
“At present, the online gaming sector ecosystem has multiple segments. These include e-sports; online social games including casual games; and education games; and online money games. The sector operates without a dedicated institutional mechanism for strategic support, co-ordination and capacity building,” says Minister Vaishnaw.
“The absence of an enabling legal framework has adversely impacted the sector’s assured growth, development of common infrastructure, provision of specialised training and research in emerging technologies in the sector.”
He also warns of the unchecked and widespread proliferation of online money games and the resulting “grave social, economic, and psychological consequences across the country”.
“A significant number of young persons and economically vulnerable individuals have been adversely impacted by the seamless availability of these games, driven by the low cost of internet access, the ubiquity of mobile and computing devices, and the ease of app-based participation. This problem is further exacerbated by aggressive promotional campaigns, including the use of celebrity endorsements, which enhance the appeal and reach of such platforms.”
He goes on to state: “A plethora of online money gaming service providers operating from offshore locations often circumvent state-specific regulations, evade taxation, and create enforcement challenges pertaining to extra-territorial concerns for domestic authorities, and has raised complex challenges with respect to user safety, consumer protection, cross-border operations, and inter-State regulatory inconsistencies.
“Considering the deleterious and negative impact of online money games on the individuals, families, society and the nation […], it is prudent and practical in the interest of general public to completely prohibit the activity of online money gaming, rather than attempts to regulation.”