New legislation that has been proposed in India could see the end of online games played with real money.
The Lok Sabha, the Lower House of India’s Parliament, voted on the draft law on Wednesday (August 20) aimed at tackling the country’s problems with gambling addiction, money laundering and frauds.
The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, was passed by a voice vote and now moves to the Upper House, the Rajya Sabha, for approval to become law.
Should that happen, the new legislation would ban online gaming apps that require users to pay money to win cash.
While that may curtail activity across its 28 states and eight union territories, the legislation won’t reach the many online casinos based offshore that continue to attract users in India.
What Is Proposed Under India’s New Gaming Bill?
There are five main components to the proposed new online gaming laws:
- A complete ban on operating or facilitating online real money games. These also can’t be advertised on any media and banks and other financial institutions will be barred from processing associated payments.
- A new national online gaming authority be formed to assess and oversee the legitimacy of online games as well as handle complaints relating to games online.
- The elevation of esports to become recognised as a legitimate form of competitive sport in India.
- An acceptance of online social games that are age appropriate and educational, promoting Indian culture and values.
- A range of punishments that include jail terms of up to five years and hefty fines up to £85,000 for anybody proven to have facilitated, advertised or been involved in financial transactions relating to real money online gaming.
Gambling Crackdown In India
The bill has surfaced at a time when Indian legislators are attempting to curb unregulated gambling being offered in the country.
India’s Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has been focussing on the placements of advertisements and promotions for sports betting apps and online casinos that may not have authority to operate in the region.
Last month both Google and Meta received a fresh summons to appear in front of the ED to explain how the tech giants vetted advertisers, and several Indian actors including Prakash Raj were questioned over online betting promotions on their social channels.
At the start of this week, popular Pakistani YouTuber Ducky Bhai (real name Saad ur Rehman) was arrested at Lahore airport after being accused of promoting unregistered gambling companies.
Why India Requires New Gaming Legislation
The bill proposes that all online betting and gambling games should be outlawed, including online fantasy sports, online casino games such as poker and other card games, and lotteries.
A press release from the Indian government explained the rationale behind the proposed new laws.
“The government believes that the harms of addiction, financial loss and even extreme consequences such as suicides associated with online money gaming can be prevented by prevention of such activities,” it read.
“Additionally, online money gaming platforms are often misused for financial fraud, money laundering, terror financing and messaging activity that compromise national security.”
Jim Munro is a betting industry and gambling expert who has been a national newspaper journalist for over 30 years, predominantly at The Sunday Times and The Sun, where he wrote a weekly soccer betting column. Jim also worked on the launch of Virgin Bet with Gamesys and was subsequently head of editorial at LiveScore, the sports media and betting group.
