The government has brought forward the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025.
This Bill encourages e-sports and online social games while prohibiting harmful online money gaming services, advertisements, and financial transactions related to them. Bill also outlaws all online Betting and Gambling (Satta and Jua) activities – from Online Fantasy Sports to Online Gambling (like Poker, Rummy and other Card games) and Online Lotteries.
The government has said it believes that the harms of addiction, financial losses, and even extreme consequences such as suicides associated with online money gaming can be prevented by prohibition of such activities.
Additionally, online money gaming platforms are often misused for financial fraud, money laundering, terror financing and messaging activities that compromise national security.
Furthermore, this aligns the national laws for the digital domain with the existing laws for corresponding activities in the physical world, wherein betting and gambling are restricted or punishable – such as in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 as well as various State government legislations.
For the promotion of e-sports, the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports will establish a dedicated framework. For online social games, the Ministry of Electronics & IT (MeitY) and the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) will extend support to online games that foster educational & cultural values, skill development and social engagement.
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