Government proposes dedicated regulator for online gaming under new law

The Centre is set to establish a dedicated regulatory authority for online gaming, with powers to register titles and flag real-money games—such as fantasy sports, digital rummy and e-poker—which will be barred under a new law.

This marks a shift from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology’s 2023 plan for a self-regulatory framework for the industry, which has since been shelved.

According to the draft Online Gaming Bill, 2025, expected to be tabled in Parliament this week, the government has also proposed strict curbs on real-money gaming, including:

• Declaring advertising or promotion of such games an offence.
• Banning banks, financial institutions or intermediaries from facilitating transactions for them.
• Promoting e-sports and social online games as distinct from money-based gaming.

Penalties proposed under the bill

• Offering online real-money games: up to 3 years’ imprisonment, Rs 1 crore fine, or both.
• Running advertisements: up to 2 years’ imprisonment, Rs 50 lakh fine, or both.
• Facilitating or authorising transactions: up to 3 years’ imprisonment, Rs 1 crore fine, or both.

Industry impact

Executives from the online real-money gaming industry—home to unicorns such as Dream11, Games24x7 and Mobile Premier League (MPL)—warned the move would “severely impact” the sector.

The industry employs over 200,000 professionals and has attracted more than Rs 25,000 crore in FDI across 400+ startups, they said. Advertising, technology and allied services linked to gaming see spends of nearly Rs 6,000 crore annually.

Industry leaders cautioned that a blanket ban could hurt government revenues, with a potential tax loss of Rs 20,000 crore. They also warned of users shifting to unregulated offshore betting platforms, exposing an estimated 45 crore Indian gamers to unsafe operators and fraudulent practices.