Online gaming invoice will get LS approval inside 7 minutes | Newest Information India

The Lok Sabha on Wednesday handed laws utterly prohibiting on-line cash gaming in India, seven minutes after the Union minister for electronics and knowledge know-how (Meity) launched the invoice.

Cleared by the Union cupboard solely a day earlier, the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025 cleared its first legislative hurdle amid criticism from folks within the gaming business, who cited hundreds of crores in revenues and investments involving the sector.

The authorities, nonetheless, believes the advantages of banning on-line cash video games outweighs the prices, a senior authorities official requesting anonymity mentioned.

In Lok Sabha, the place the invoice sailed via amid opposition parliamentarian’s protests, minister Ashwini Vaishnaw mentioned the laws was essential to sort out a section of gaming that’s of great concern.

“Over the last 11 years, digital technology has expanded on a massive scale, giving India a new identity. One sector closely tied to this growth is online gaming, which has three key segments,” Vaishnaw informed Parliament. “The first is e-sports, an emerging field that promotes strategic thinking, teamwork, and cultural exchange. The second is online social games like solitaire, chess, and sudoku that many of us have played. The third, however, is online money games — a segment that has become a serious concern for society today.”

The legislation bans all on-line cash video games, from fantasy sports activities to poker, rummy and on-line lotteries. Facilitators resist three years imprisonment, fines of ₹1 crore, or each. Advertising such platforms carries penalties of two years imprisonment and fines as much as ₹50 lakh.

Government estimates counsel 450 million Indians play on-line cash video games, with roughly ₹20,000 crore misplaced yearly. The business generates ₹31,000 crore in annual revenues, has attracted ₹25,000 crore in international funding since June 2022, and helps round 400 startups, in keeping with the letter floated by the business physique to Amit Shah.

“Many families suffer because people in their families get addicted to online money games, and life-long savings are lost to these money games,” Vaishnaw mentioned.

The senior authorities official cited above added the invoice was stored underneath wraps because it was thought-about too delicate to publicise.

Online gaming encompasses a broad spectrum, from informal cell video games to money-based platforms. Several states have focused the latter, citing constitutional authority to manage playing. However, this strategy has created authorized confusion over talent versus likelihood video games, with courts delivering conflicting rulings on platforms like rummy and fantasy cricket.

At current, India has no federal regulation on on-line gaming. A patchwork of legal guidelines exists, with states like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh banning on-line cash gaming outright, while Sikkim and Nagaland require licensing for operators.

Industry our bodies weren’t consulted earlier than Tuesday’s Cabinet approval, HT has learnt, although the federal government had held a number of rounds of conversations with stakeholders over the past three to 4 years. The All India Gaming Federation, E-Gaming Federation, and Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports have written to Home Minister Amit Shah calling the ban a “death knell” for the business.

The organisations mentioned the sector contributes over ₹20,000 crore in annual taxes and employs greater than 200,000 folks, with projections to double by 2028.

The authorities official cited above added that there was recognition the business might be affected however mentioned firms ought to take a look at different methods to show their platforms in direction of leisure video games.

The invoice nonetheless has a protracted approach to go earlier than being totally operational – it must subsequent be permitted by the Rajya Sabha, earlier than guidelines are framed for its implementation.

IT secretary S Krishnan informed HT the federal government would maintain consultations with stakeholders earlier than drafting implementation guidelines. “All ministries supported the bill. The finance ministry raised concerns over payment transactions, and the Financial Intelligence Unit will keep a close watch on them,” he added.

Critics argued the ban abandons a extra measured regulatory strategy and would profit offshore operators whereas harming compliant home firms. The laws successfully scraps proposed amendments to IT Rules 2023 that may have created a system the place self-regulatory our bodies vetted on-line real-money video games and offered client criticism channels.

“The IT Rules amendment was a proportionate framework that adequately addressed consumer welfare concerns and would have created a way to signal to consumers which platforms can be trusted and which cannot. Most importantly, it gave them an opportunity for recourse,” mentioned Megha Bal, director at Esya Centre, a tech coverage assume tank.

“The government has, in one fell swoop, wiped out companies that were onshore and willing to comply with a regulatory framework,” Bal added.

The laws comes amid an Enforcement Directorate investigation into celebrities selling betting platforms, with the company questioning movie stars, cricketers and influencers over cash laundering issues.

The invoice, nonetheless, promotes e-Sports as professional competitors whereas banning money-based gaming, marking one of many world’s strictest regulatory approaches to digital playing.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla urged MPs to again the invoice, calling it a “good bill,” at the same time as opposition protests disrupted proceedings. “I request members to return to their seats and discuss the matter. I am ready to allow a debate. Do you not want to debate this issue?” he requested amid the uproar.