Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Aug 20: The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed a bill seeking to prohibit the real money gaming firms.
Arguing about the importance of the legislation, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw underlined that addiction to real money gaming have been the cause of multiple suicides and social evils. He underlined that several families have been destroyed because of this segment of online gaming. The Union Minister further held that these games imbibe on opaque and cheating algorithms.
Amid Opposition raising slogans demanding a discussion on the “Special Intensive Revision” (SIR) exercise of the electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar, the speaker Om Birla sought cooperation of the Opposition members to discuss the Online Gaming Bill. “We have consensus in the house on how many lives have been destroyed. The legislation is being brought for the same reason to address the varied loopholes,” he said.
Underling the objective of the “Promotion and Regulation of On-line Gaming Bill, 2025,” Mr Vaishnaw said the government wanted to promote online social games and e-sports. He held the other segment of online gaming, that is, money gaming has caused much societal upheaval and duress. He held that the government was proposing the legislation to prioritise social welfare, especially of the middle class who may have been or may get affected by the segment.
Earlier in his address, Mr Vaishnaw had underlined that people get addicted to money gaming and end up spending their lifetime-worth of savings, or fall prey to fraud, opaque and cheating algorithms – at times culminating in suicides. Mr Vaishnaw further argued such gaming have also contributed to money laundering and supporting terror.
An estimated 45 crore people lose around Rs 20,000 crore every year playing online games, including gambling and betting games, government sources said. The online gaming, specifically those involving money – either to place ‘bets’ or as subscription fees or to access in-game content – have become a ‘major problem’ with many MPs flagging concerns. And the government, having to choose between revenue from online gaming websites and the financial and mental welfare of the people, chose the latter, sources said.
The bill highlights concerns over addiction to games, fraud by game operators and developers, and inconsistences in state laws regarding gambling. It also proposes stricter oversight of gaming platforms, particularly those offering real-money games, such as poker. There are also concerns these are used to launder money or even finance terrorism.
Sources said people who play these games are victims (and) will not be punished… but there will be action against those who run real money gaming platforms, facilitate transactions, etc. The sources said the market of the gaming apps which masquerade as ‘a game of skill’ to appear different from gambling games and are outlawed by Indian laws was worth over Rs 8.3 lakh crore and was growing at 30 per cent annually.
The new bill creates a legal framework, including levying penalties for running gambling apps, to regulate these gambling platforms. These penalties include a three-year prison sentence, a fine of Rs 1 crore, or both for any person offering online money-based gaming services in violation of the law. And those advertising such endeavours may face a two-year jail term and/or pay a fine of Rs 50 lakh.
There are three main parts to this legislation, which suggests the establishment of a national-level ‘Online Gaming Authority’ to regulate digital gaming. This body will categorise and register games, decide which qualify as ‘money games’, and handle complaints from citizens.
Sources said the government was keen to promote e-sports, which refers to organised and competitive gaming involving users playing in a tournament or league format for prize money. The government wants to provide legal recognition to e-sports via this bill, sources said. The government intends to allocate funds to promote and maintain these activities, which account for two-thirds of the online gaming industry and will create jobs, sources also said.
Like e-sports, on-line social games these will also be given legal recognition, sources said. The government hopes to use these games to send important socio-cultural messages, and developers and promoters of these games could receive financial support, sources also said. Online social games also include multiplayer games like Fortnite, Counter-Strike, Minecraft, etc., which most frequently involve real-time interaction with other players.
By promoting both – i.e., e-sports and safe online social games – the government hopes India will become a global hub for video game development, both coding and creative.
Overall, the government is in the process of tightening the online gaming sector. This has included imposing a 28 per cent tax on online gaming activities since October 2023. Winnings were taxed at 30 per cent starting from the 2024-25 financial year. Offshore gaming platforms have been brought under the tax net and unregistered or illegal gaming sites – over 1,500 for betting and gambling since 2022 – have been blocked.
