Online Gaming Bill 2025 passes Lok Sabha test; over to Rajya Sabha

The Lok Sabha on Wednesday cleared the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025 -- a draft legislation aimed at setting ground rules for online gaming platforms. The draft law will have to now see the passage in the Rajya Sabha and then secure the President's assent in order to take effect.

Online Gaming Bill | Length, key features, penalties...

Spanning 14 pages and around 13,000 words, the bill describes online money games as those that require users to make a monetary payment to play in hopes of winning money and other rewards.

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The Bill has 20 main sections under six chapters, covering the following areas:

• Recognition and promotion of e-sports, and online social games
• Total prohibition on online money games and related financial transactions
• Prohibition on advertising real-money games
• Establishment of an authority on online gaming
• Penalties ranging from fines (up to Rs 2 crore) to imprisonment (up to 5 years for repeat offences)
• Special provisions for offences by companies and non-compliance penalties
• Powers of investigation, search and seizure
• Rules on blocking online money gaming services
• Financial memorandum setting out an initial capex of Rs 50 crore and recurring cost of Rs 20 crore annually

It also restricts eminent personalities -- such as celebrities and influencers -- from backing or promoting mobile apps or platforms offering such content.

The development comes at a time when the central government has time and time again raised concerns about the potential ill effects of such digital offerings on the society, especially the youth.

The Online Gaming Bill -- as it is popularly known -- is drafted by the Ministry Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). The Bill not only draws sensitive distinctions as between skill-based and luck-based games, but also defines strict penal action against offenders.

What Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said

Describing the Online Gaming Bill as a revolutionary step, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the incoming law is set to grant legal recognition to e-sports.

The second segment is online social games -- those played with families -- that the Bill seeks to promote, he said.

Vaishnaw also pointed out that another aspect that the Bill seeks to address is money games, which cause people to get addicted, impacting their household savings.