Overview

• Parliament cleared the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, which outlaws online money games, bans related advertising and blocks payment processing, with penalties for operators and celebrity promoters.
• MPL and Zupee suspended paid offerings, Probo paused recharges, and reports indicate Dream11 is preparing to wind down real‑money operations, while Hike’s Rush announced a full exit from India to focus on the US and other markets.
• The law provides for up to three years’ imprisonment and fines up to ₹1 crore for providers of online money games, and up to two years and ₹50 lakh for those who endorse them.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi and IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw defended the law as necessary to curb addiction and illicit finance, while pledging support for e‑sports and social gaming.
• Karnataka IT minister Priyank Kharge and industry groups warned of job losses, reduced investment and a shift to unregulated offshore platforms, even as analysts expect some demand to move to casual games and e‑sports and operators prepare legal challenges.