New Delhi: A day after the Lok Sabha passed the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, the Rajya Sabha on Thursday cleared it by voice vote amid opposition sloganeering. The Bill was tabled by Union IT and railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
The legislation seeks to impose a blanket ban on money-based online games while promoting e-sports and social gaming. It also prohibits advertisements of money-gaming platforms and bars banks and financial institutions from processing related transactions. Once enacted, offering online money games will be punishable with up to three years’ imprisonment and/or a fine of up to Rs 1 crore.
Bill terms money-based games harmful
The Bill defines money-based games as those requiring players to deposit funds in the hope of winning cash or other rewards. Labelled “harmful”, such games and their associated financial dealings will stand prohibited.
Vaishnaw, in his remarks inside and outside Parliament, underlined the Bill’s “balanced approach” — promoting what is beneficial while banning what is harmful for the youth and middle class. He termed online gaming an important part of “Digital Bharat” and classified it into three categories:
1. E-sports: training and strategy-based, played between teams like cricket or football. The Bill gives e-sports legal recognition, with government schemes planned to promote them.
2. Social games: fun, educational and community-based, such as Angry Birds, card games or brain games. Recognised as safe, these will be encouraged as part of India’s creator economy and software growth.
3. Money-based games: involving financial stakes, addiction and harm. Vaishnaw said such games have ruined families, pushed youth into debt, led to suicides, and enabled money laundering and terror financing. Misleading celebrity endorsements, he added, give them false legitimacy.
Players are victims – won’t be penalised
The minister clarified that players will not be penalised, as they are considered victims. Instead, service providers, advertisers and financial intermediaries will face action.
Citing thousands of complaints from across the country, Vaishnaw said the government had prioritised the safety of families over other considerations. “When it comes to choosing between society’s welfare and government revenue, Prime Minister Modi has always chosen middle-class families. This Bill follows the same principle — protecting society while encouraging e-sports and social game creators as engines of innovation,” he said.
