Bill Banning Real Money Games Gets President’s Assent

SUMMARY

With this, the Bill banning online money gaming services will become an Act once a notification is released announcing the date on which it will come into effect

The Centre is now tasked to constitute an authority to determine people engaged in in the now outlawed business, categorise games and formulate guidelines to be followed moving forward

Now, any business involved in the real money gaming business can be penalised in a range of INR 50 Lakh to INR 2 Cr along with an imprisonment sentence ranging from two to three years

President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent to the ‘Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025’ today, effectively bringing an end to India’s real money gaming industry.

With this, the Bill banning online money gaming services will become an Act once a notification is released announcing the date on which it will come into effect.

“No person shall offer, aid, abet, induce or otherwise indulge or engage in the offering of online money games and online money gaming service,” as per the Bill. It also bans direct or indirect promotion of such games within the territory of the country.

Further, the Centre is now tasked to constitute an authority to determine people engaged in in the now outlawed business, categorise games and formulate guidelines to be followed moving forward.

Any business offering real money games will be liable for punishment. The penalty will be in the range of INR 50 Lakh to INR 2 Cr and an imprisonment of two to three years.

The Centre introduced the Bill in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday (August 20) and it was passed by the Lower House of the Parliament on the same day. A day later, the Bill received approval from the Rajya Sabha.

Explaining the rationale behind the introduction of the Bill, IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw observed that real money gaming platforms have been misused for money laundering, terror financing and as messaging tools for terrorist groups. Besides, a number of users in the country lost crores of rupees due to real money gaming addiction.

Notably, the real money gaming segment produced unicorns like Dream11, MPL and Games24x7. The startups in the segment have raised over $3 Bn to date and provide jobs to 2 Lakh employees.

Following the passage of the Bill in the Upper House, nearly all the startups, including Dream11, Head Digital Works, Gameskraft, among others, have discontinued their real money gaming offerings.

There is little to no clarity on the future road map for these startups. Dream11 parent Dream Sports, which is the largest player in the space, will focus on its other businesses following the ban on real money gaming.

“We are fortunate to have a portfolio of amazing Sports Tech businesses including FanCode, DreamSetGo and Dream Game Studios, along with our Dream Sports Foundation,” the startup said.

While the Centre has banned real money gaming, online gambling platforms continue to remain a concern. According to a report by Digital India Foundation, four gambling platforms – Parimatch, Stake, 1xBet and Batery-bet – recorded 1.6 Bn visits in the first three months of 2025.

Earlier, an industry source told Inc42 that the ban on real money gaming will result in an increase in the presence of offshore betting platforms in the country.