The Online Gaming Bill, 2025, was passed in the Parliament on Thursday, with the Rajya Sabha approving it without debate amid din.
The bill, piloted by Minister of Electronics and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw, seeks
to ban all forms of online money games while promoting eSports and online social gaming.
The Online Gaming Bill, 2025, was approved by the Rajya Sabha after rejecting amendments moved by Opposition members.
It was passed by the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
The Bill seeks to prohibit advertisements related to online money games and bar banks and financial institutions from facilitating or transferring funds for any of such games.
Online money games are played by depositing money in expectation of winning monetary and other rewards.
A day before, the Bill was welcomed by many MPs who highlighted the “serious problem” of money games harming society, even as Congress MP Shashi Tharoor cautioned that the ban on these games that use money will only push such activities “underground”.
Tharoor said that such online games can serve as a useful source of revenue for the government if legalised, regulated and taxed.
The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, bans the operating, facilitating and advertising of online money games, as the government looks to check rising instances of addiction, money laundering and financial fraud through such applications.
Defending the ban, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw asserted that the interests of society will always override the interests of industry.
He noted that the bill will help encourage e-sports and social gaming, and said there was a demand from many MPs to prohibit money gaming because of its harmful effects on society.
The minister said the Bill has three segments – the first is e-sports, where players compete in coordinated games across the world.
MPs of the Trinamool Congress and other Opposition parties also protested in the Lok Sabha as Union Home Minister Amit Shah moved three Bills for the removal of prime minister, chief ministers and ministers arrested on serious criminal charges for 30 days.
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