What the New Online Gaming Act Means: Key Details Explained

Swift Summary

• The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill,2025 was passed by the Lok Sabha on August 20,followed by Rajya Sabha approval on August 21. It received Presidential Assent on August 22 to become law.
• The act categorizes online games into three segments: e-sports, social gaming, and Real Money Games (RMGs):

– RMGs are banned, including their advertisements; popular games like poker, Rummy, Fantasy Cricket may fall under this category.- E-Sports are recognized under the national Sports Governance Act; they include performance-based prize money but require registration fees.
– Social gaming lacks a legal definition but will receive government support for recreational/educational advancement purposes.

• Regulations include:

– Offering RMGs or related transactions will invite imprisonment (up to three years) and fines (up to ₹1 crore). unlawful advertising carries lesser penalties.
– CERT-IN is empowered to block non-compliant apps and involve Interpol for offshore platforms violating the ban.
– No penal action is set for players engaging in banned games.

• Concerns addressed by the Act:

– Thousands of crores lost via RMGs annually (~₹15,000 crore); WHO links gameplay addiction with mental health issues and suicides; Karnataka reported 32 suicides in recent months due to such addiction.
– Allegations around financial fraud, GST evasion (₹30,000 crore), money laundering & funding threats from offshore gaming firms like China-origin app FIEWIN defrauding users of ₹400 crores.
– A Parliamentary Panel highlighted risks such as misuse of these portals for terror financing activities.

• Critics argue that banning all forms of skill-based real money games ignores judicial precedents distinguishing “games of skill” from gambling under Article 19(1)(g). pending Supreme Court rulings could shape future regulatory frameworks.

indian Opinion Analysis

The new legislation aims at curbing burgeoning issues surrounding Real Money Games-addiction-related tragedies, financial loss among users (~₹15k crore annually), tax evasion claims (~₹30k crore), and alleged ties with unlawful activities including terror financing. While the law seeks clarity through definitions and penalties across game categories, critics cite concerns over erasing constitutional protections for skill-based businesses like rummy or fantasy sports.

India’s long-standing tension between state authority over betting/gambling regulation versus federal policies heightens complexities here-especially in balancing economic impact against social safeguards amid industry opposition citing millions at job risk across hundreds operating firms globally tied hosting/algs offshores loopholes VPN-query escape enforcement tightening-down mechanism integrity plausible growth adherence-clause autonomous auditing-align systematic unlock fairness paths ahead.Link: Read More