Overview

• Parliament passed the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill on August 20, banning real-money online games with penalties of up to three years in prison and fines of up to 10 million rupees.
• Users are not criminalised under the law, but platforms hosting money games and financial intermediaries that enable them face prosecution.
• The Act establishes a central authority to regulate and categorise games into e-sports, online social games, and online money games, with the latter prohibited even when using cash‑redeemable virtual tokens.
• Advertising and promotion of money games are barred, and banks and payment systems are prohibited from processing related transactions.
• The ban hits a segment that made up about 86% of India’s gaming revenue and was projected to contribute Rs 20,000 crore in GST for FY2025, with roughly 100,000 jobs reported at risk and some platforms already ceasing operations.