Online Gaming Bill 2025: Lok Sabha passes Bill banning cash video games, selling eSports and social gaming

The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, handed the Rajya Sabha on Thursday (August 21 2025), clearing the Union Cabinet and each Houses of Parliament inside 72 hours, as the federal government strikes to shortly ban actual cash video games (RMGs). The legislation is now headed to President Droupadi Murmu’s desk for her signature, after which it’ll grow to be an Act. The transfer may render corporations like Dream11, MPL and PokerBaazi’s most important revenue-generating exercise — pay-to-play stakes-based gaming — crushed in a single day.

“It is the responsibility of the government and Parliament to take strict action against malpractices in society, like chit funds,” Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw stated within the Upper House of Parliament, urging MPs throughout occasion strains to assist the legislation. “Problems [due to online money games] have led to several families being destroyed.”

The Bill was handed within the Upper House clause-by-clause, whilst Opposition legislators loudly chanted slogans on allegations of “vote theft,” and two MPs, CPI(M)’s John Brittas and V. Sivadasan, moved proposals purportedly to amend the Bill or amend sure clauses, however took the ground to repeat the allegations. Deputy chairman Harivansh stated these remarks wouldn’t be taken on file.

Quick enforcement

Mr. Vaishnaw stated that the legislation wouldn’t be topic to the extended timelines of the opposite key legal guidelines labored on by the IT Ministry, specifically the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 — the foundations usually are not but notified for this legislation, which means it isn’t in drive but — and the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.

Those laws had been labored out with months of consultations with the trade and different stakeholders. But these had been laws, and it is a prohibition. “With a prohibition, you can’t do consultations,” Mr. Vaishnaw stated. “This Bill will be enforced as soon as possible.”

The Bill upends the whole RMG trade, known as “online money games” in its textual content. The trade has but to remark publicly, however has appealed in a letter to Home Minister Amit Shah for reprieve from the ban. Probo, an “opinon trading” agency allowing wagers on outcomes of quite a lot of occasions, decried the Bill as “unfortunate,” and introduced that it might droop its actual cash gaming product.

A “short” notification could be issued shortly after the Bill’s enactment, Mr. Vaishnaw stated, bringing it into drive instantly. The Ministries of Youth Affairs and Sports and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting would take steps to advertise e-sports, the federal government stated in an announcement.

Nazara Technologies Ltd., which has invested US$122 million (over ₹800 crore) in PokerBaazi, noticed its shares dip 2% on Thursday (August 21) and has fallen about 15% because the Bill was launched within the Lok Sabha. “Nazara has no direct exposure to real money gaming (RMG) businesses,” the agency stated in a submitting with bourses. 

“The Company’s only indirect exposure to RMG is through its 46.07% stake in Moonshine Technologies Private Limited (PokerBaazi). As Nazara does not hold a majority stake or exercise control, Moonshine’s revenue is not consolidated in the Company’s financial statements and has no impact on the Company’s reported Revenue or EBITDA.”

Delta Corp Ltd, a on line casino and gaming agency which has owned poker platform Adda52, additionally recorded a dip of three.14% on Thursday.