Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill set to be introduced in Parliament today

The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025 -- commonly referred to as the Online Gaming Bill -- is set to be introduced in the Lok Sabha by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology on Wednesday. This confirms an earlier Zee Business newsbreak. The Bill seeks to streamline rules and regulations for the offering and promotion of online gaming platforms while defining related penalties and punishments for non-compliance.

Here are 10 key things to know about the Online Gaming Bill:

• The Union Cabinet cleared the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, on August 19.
• Once cleared by the lower house of Parliament, the Bill will also require Rajya Sabha passage and Presidential assent in order to become law.
• The proposed law seeks to regulate online gaming platforms and restrict misleading promotions while safeguarding users from fraud and addiction.
• It also seeks to restrict celebrities and social media influencers from endorsing or promoting betting and real-money gaming apps.
• Any game -- whether of skill or chance -- that requires an entry fee or deposit will be treated as an online money game, as per the Bill.
• The definition overrides earlier legal distinctions between skill-based and chance-based games.

• No individual or company will be permitted to offer real-money online games once the law comes into force.
• All forms of advertising for real-money games will be prohibited. Platforms, individuals, and agencies violating the rule will face punishment. Besides, banks, payment gateways and financial institutions will also be barred from processing payments for online money games.
• The Bill also proposes strict action against parties found to be in violation of the stated rules, incuding Rs 50 lakh-1 crore in penalties and 2-3 years of imprisonment.
• The Bill follows a sharp rise in cybercrimes linked to betting and gambling apps. Between 2022 and 2025, the Ministry of Electronics & IT blocked 1,410 websites.