In a move set to reshape India’s digital entertainment landscape, the Modi government has introduced the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, paving the way for a blanket ban on online money games, including all betting and gambling services hosted electronically. The bill marks a decisive intervention in an industry that has exploded in popularity, drawing over 450 million Indian users into real-money gaming platforms, and has become a lightning rod for social and economic alarm.
🚨 BREAKING: “There is a political depth of feeling across the aisle,” said a government official familiar with the drafting of the online gaming bill. “The political class is getting its reading from the ground, and they feel strongly about the societal harm and debt spiral.”… https://t.co/hf0X7f8dZa pic.twitter.com/RwxGgZyBY1
— Chandra R. Srikanth (@chandrarsrikant) August 20, 2025
Online Money Gaming: The Scale and Societal Costs
While employment generated by online gaming platforms is notable, policymakers argue that the number of jobs, estimated in the low thousands, pales in comparison to the “distress across households” now sweeping the nation because of gambling-induced debt and addiction. “There is a political depth of feeling across the aisle,” said a government official familiar with the drafting of the bill to MoneyControl. “The political class is getting its reading from the ground, and they feel strongly about societal harm and debt spiral.” State after state has attempted piecemeal bans, but these have been rendered toothless in the face of digital borderlessness and offshore operators, motivating calls for strong central control.
Jobs Vs. Social Harm: The Stark Divide
The government acknowledges the sector’s employment potential, especially in e-sports, educational, and social gaming segments. However, the bill’s architects maintain that this opportunity does not justify the rampant harm inflicted by real-money gaming apps. “There is a lot of money sloshing around, much of it targeting vulnerable and lower-income groups,” one official told reporters, pointing to aggressive, celebrity-driven marketing and opaque algorithms designed to maximize user losses.
Platforms often exploit addictive psychological mechanisms, leading to compulsive gambling, financial ruin, and severe mental health impacts. Reports link real-money gaming services to a surge in family breakdown, suicide attempts, and an overall erosion of public trust. “This has become a cause of distress across households,” noted the official.
Central Government Steps In
State-level bans have offered little protection, with offshore websites and payment processors routinely routing bets beyond local regulators’ reach. “State bans have been ineffective, which only reinforces the need for stronger central regulation,” said a senior official, reflecting the urgency behind the new legislation.
The bill envisions the creation of a national regulatory authority to distinguish between permissible games (like e-sports and educational software) and money games, and to police compliance and advertising. It categorically prohibits offering, promoting, facilitating, or advertising any online money gaming services, and makes financial transactions towards gambling platforms illegal, even criminally punishable with jail time and steep fines.
Foreign Investment: Stopping the Wrong Kind of FDI
Another sore point is foreign direct investment. With global investors flocking to Indian gaming startups, officials worry about an influx of “unproductive FDI”. “We need clarity on what kind of foreign investment and FDI we want in this space. This is not productive FDI. The industry is making outsized profits by preying on the Indian population,” a government source warned.
Not Just Regulation: Protecting Vulnerable Indians
The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill aims to preserve the creative and competitive promise of India’s gaming sector, e-sports, educational and social games, while putting an end to what officials call the “predatory” real-money gaming segment. “Millions of Indians, especially youth and vulnerable groups, are being systematically targeted,” said an official. “The government cannot let a few thousand jobs come at the cost of societal welfare and financial security.”
With its sweeping scope and tough enforcement provisions, the bill sends an unambiguous message – when it comes to the social costs of online gambling, the Modi government is prepared to act.
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