The upper house of India’s parliament passed on Thursday a bill that will ban online real-money gaming. The move came a day after the lower house had passed the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025.
It aims to “prohibit the offering, operation, facilitation, advertisement, promotion and participation in online money games”, targeting firms that offer fantasy sports and card games where users can deposit and risk money.
According to the terms of the bill, advertising such games can result in a jail term of up to two years and a fine of up to “50 lakh rupees”, or about US$57,300.
Repeat offenders face harsher punishments, including imprisonment of up to five years and fines of up to “2 crore rupees,” or about US$229,200.
The bill allows for the establishment of a national online gaming authority. Its functions will include “categorising and registering online games, deciding whether a game qualifies as a money game, and addressing public grievances,” said a Thursday press release from the government. The authority would “issue guidelines, codes of practice and directions to ensure compliance”.
The bill must be signed by the country’s president, to become law.
Local media reported that the measure had passed the national cabinet and both houses of parliament, within a 72-hour period.
The Hindu newspaper on Thursday quoted Vidushpat Singhania, managing partner at Krida Legal, a specialist in gaming law, saying the bill “has come as a shock to an industry that has sought central regulation through a dedicated authority”.
News outlets also reported that some opposition MPs staged vocal protests in the upper chamber on Thursday as the 14-page bill was passed clause-by-clause.
The Thursday press statement from the Indian government said the bill “marks a landmark move to shield citizens from the menace of online money games while promoting and regulating other kinds of online games”.
It stated: “This legislation is designed to curb addiction, financial ruin and social distress caused by predatory gaming platforms that thrive on misleading promises of quick wealth.”
The announcement added: “It reflects the government’s resolve to safeguard families while guiding the digital economy towards safe and constructive growth.”
Reuters reported on Thursday – citing two gaming industry sources with direct knowledge of the matter – that Indian gaming groups were holding discussions with lawyers about approaching the country’s Supreme Court to challenge the ban by citing a lack of consultation, the impact on the thriving industry, and how some games being banned, like poker, are skill-based and should be exempted.
Reuters also reported – citing information from PitchBook, a provider of data on global capital markets – that Dream11, a popular fantasy sports platform in India, “commands a valuation of US$8 billion,” and Mobile Premier League (MPL), an eSports and mobile gaming platform, was valued at US$2.3 billion.
The news provider cited, in a separate Thursday report, a statement from MPL: “Effective immediately, we are suspending all gaming offerings involving money on the MPL platform in India”.
As of Friday, GGRAsia checks showed that a message on the Mobile Premier League website stated: ‘Deposits are no longer available on the MPL app.”
