Game Over for Real-Money Online Games: President Murmu gives assent, Online Gaming Bill becomes law
Published on 22/08/2025 08:09 PM
Online Gaming Bill: President Droupadi Murmu on Friday gave her assent to the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, a day after it was passed by Parliament, ushering in strict regulations for money-based online gaming platforms in India.
Under the new law, those facilitating such platforms face up to three years in prison and fines of up to Rs 1 crore, while advertising or promoting these services can attract punishment of up to two years and fines reaching Rs 50 lakh.
After the bill’s clearance, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said it would safeguard society from the adverse effects of online money games. Both Houses of Parliament had quickly passed the legislation — the Lok Sabha within seven minutes and the Rajya Sabha in just 26 minutes — despite strong protests by opposition members, who cited procedural lapses and inadequate debate.
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Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw, presenting the bill, stressed its importance in protecting families from financial losses caused by online gambling. “From time to time, society grapples with social evils. In these circumstances, it is the duty of the government and the Parliament to probe and make laws to control them,” he said, adding that people were losing their “life's savings” through such platforms.
Vaishnaw further highlighted the scale of the problem, noting that around 45 crore people have been affected, and approximately Rs 20,000 crore lost due to online money gaming.
In response, several platforms, including WinZO and Moonshine Technologies (PokerBaazi), backed by Nazara Technologies, suspended their real-money gaming operations following Parliament’s approval.
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