Parliament passes Gaming Act 2025, restricting Dream11 and WinZO; Minister Vaishnaw compares it to drug addiction
The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, which aims to regulate and promote online gaming in India, has been passed by the Rajya Sabha. The bill seeks to impose a nationwide ban on real money games (RMGs) such as Dream11, WinZO, and RummyCircle, while also creating a statutory regulatory authority to oversee the industry.
Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, in a bold move, compared money-gaming addiction to drug abuse while tabling the bill in the Upper House. He emphasised that the powerful people behind online money games would challenge the decision in courts and run social media campaigns against the ban. However, he also stated that players themselves would not face criminal liability, framing them as victims rather than offenders.
The bill makes offences under Sections 5 and 7 (operation and financial facilitation of money games) cognizable and non-bailable. Violations of these sections are punishable by up to three years in prison and fines of as much as Rs 1 crore. Repeat offences could lead to enhanced penalties, including three to five years' imprisonment and fines up to Rs 2 crore.
Advertisers of RMGs could face up to two years in prison and fines of as much as Rs 50 lakh. Banks and financial institutions facilitating such transactions would also face penalties.
The bill proposes a statutory regulatory authority with powers to classify games, register platforms, and formulate policy for permissible segments such as eSports and social games. Subscription-based entertainment and skill-based formats would be allowed so long as no monetary returns are promised. The bill also prohibits RMG companies from accepting user deposits for games where players could lose money.
The sector, valued at more than Rs 2 lakh crore, generated Rs 31,000 crore in annual revenue and had attracted more than Rs 25,000 crore in foreign direct investment by mid-2022. The All India Gaming Federation, the E-Gaming Federation, and the Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports wrote a letter to Home Minister Amit Shah warning that the prohibition of RMGs would destroy over two lakh jobs, result in over 400 companies shutting down, and weaken India's position as a digital innovator.
However, the bill's aim is not just to regulate and ban, but also to promote and encourage the good parts of online gaming. It includes efforts to make India a hub for game development through institutions such as the proposed Indian Institute of Creative Technologies. The bill also aims to promote responsible gaming and protect vulnerable users from addiction.
The President of India, Droupadi Murmu, must now sign the bill, marking the beginning of a new era for the online gaming industry in India. The bill's passage has sparked a heated debate, with supporters arguing that it is necessary to regulate the industry to protect consumers, and critics claiming that it will stifle innovation and harm the industry. Only time will tell how the industry will evolve under this new regulatory framework.
