Rajya Sabha passes online gaming bill; bans betting games and ads

The Rajya Sabha on Thursday passed the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill through a voice vote, despite heavy protests from opposition MPs. Deputy Chairman Harivansh announced the approval and adjourned the House for ten minutes amid the ruckus.

The legislation, piloted by electronics and IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, bans all forms of online money games, advertisements promoting them, and financial transactions linked to such activities. It also makes the facilitation or offering of money-based gaming punishable with up to three years in jail and/or a fine of ₹1 crore.

Vaishnaw stressed that the bill, debated for more than three years, aims to protect people from losing their savings in online money gaming while simultaneously promoting eSports and social gaming. He added that gaming has also been misused for money laundering, terror financing, and as a communication channel for extremist groups.

The new law is expected to affect popular platforms like Dream11, Mobile Premier League (MPL), WinZO, Howzat, SG11 Fantasy, and PokerBaazi. With both houses of Parliament now clearing the bill, India moves toward tighter regulation of the fast-growing online gaming industry.