Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025

The "Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025" introduces a comprehensive national-level legal framework for India's rapidly expanding online gaming sector.

Key Strengths:

• Unified Regulation: The Bill addresses the existing regulatory vacuum by establishing a uniform legal framework, aiming to promote structured development and strategic coordination for the sector.
• Protection of Vulnerable Groups: It prioritizes safeguarding individuals, particularly youth and vulnerable populations, from adverse social, economic, and psychological impacts of online money games.
• Outright Prohibition of Harmful Games: The Bill decisively prohibits online money games, citing their links to manipulative design, compulsive behavior, financial ruin, fraud, money laundering, and threats to national security and public order.
• Promotion of Beneficial Segments: It actively distinguishes and promotes e-sports, educational games, and online social games, recognizing their potential for innovation and skill development.
• Robust Enforcement Mechanisms: An Authority will be established to classify games, register permissible ones, and enforce compliance through significant penalties, service blocking, and powers of investigation and seizure, crucial for deterring illicit activities.

Points for Consideration:

• Broad Prohibition Scope: The Bill's blanket prohibition of all "online money games," regardless of whether they are based on skill or chance, is a sweeping measure whose full implications on diverse gaming models will warrant ongoing assessment.
• Extraterritorial Enforcement: While the Bill extends to online money gaming services offered from outside India, effectively enforcing against sophisticated offshore operators will likely present persistent challenges.

Download PDF: Bill Text