India’s sweeping Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 has imposed a blanket ban on all real-money online games, triggering sharp debate and legal challenges. The government has cited addiction, fraud, and money laundering risks. While critics argue the ban ignores distinctions between skill and chance-based games, the law aims to carves space for esports, social, and educational gaming.
Government’s decision to completely ban the real money gaming (RMG) in India has generated sharp reactions on both sides of the spectrum. Even watching things unfolding from the sidelines, it is difficult to assess if the decision taken in right spirit and for public good is done in haste or not.
Notwithstanding this, there is silver lining too that we now have a regulation for the industry which has to function within the precinct of the new law.
Moreover, the policy making is a dynamic process and there is nothing like a permanent legislation. Industry should let channels remain open with the government and also has to be patient.
The online gaming industry is still under evolution and should be built under regulatory wisdom even if it looks like a temporary setback.
About the law
Passed in August and seen as a sweeping move in digital policy, India’s Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 bans real-money online games nationwide, aiming to curb addiction, financial fraud, and unregulated funding. The law establishes a regulatory authority to oversee licensing, enforce compliance, and promote esports and education-oriented gaming. While hailed for its protective intent, the legislation has triggered legal challenges over its impact on skill-based platforms and economic disruption.
The Act introduces a blanket ban on all real-money online games—including fantasy sports, rummy, poker, and lotteries—regardless of whether skill or chance dominates play. Financial transactions, advertising, and facilitation of such games are now punishable, with harsher penalties for repeat wrongdoing.
The Act seeks to formalise the industry. The NOGC (National Online Gaming Commission) provides clarity, licensing, and a grievance mechanism for the gaming ecosystem. It supports safer gaming ecosystems, promotion of esports, educational, and social games fosters innovation and skill development.
To enforce this, the law mandates creation of a National Online Gaming Commission (NOGC) which is tasked with classifying and licensing games, enforcing safety protocols, managing user grievances, and blocking non-compliant operators.
However, the Act has given explicit concession to multiplayer esports, social gaming, and educational games—areas that the government plans to support through grants, infrastructure, and training initiatives.
With this bill, the government aims to not just prevent people from addiction and severe monetary losses that may lead to self-harm. It also wants to curb money laundering and financing of activities detrimental to the nation through this.
The law was fast-tracked through Parliament, receiving the President’s assent just days after introduction. The criticism is that it requires a threadbare scrutiny and banning RMG altogether amounts to throwing baby out of the bathwater.
The government is prepared to let go the revenue it used to earn through the RMG, for a larger public good.
Disruption
This move has created major disruptions in the form of terminations of existing contracts, leading to losses for the companies. MPL and Dream11 have already suspended real-money operations. The revenue hit and job losses are natural biproducts of the action. While Dream11 has told media that it will not cut jobs, reports of lay-offs by MPL have surfaced.
There is an economic fallout for gaming companies as real-money segment is a shutdown have eliminated over 90 per cent of revenues for platforms like Dream11 and MPL, raising fears of layoffs.
The rules may backfire as critics warn against the blanket ban arguing that it may drive users towards unregulated offshore platforms, undermining protection. Meanwhile, there are legal and constitutional concerns as well. By erasing distinction between skill and chance-based games, the law may conflict with long-standing legal precedents and Article 19(1)(g) rights.
International precedents
The real money gaming is heavily licensed in the UK in terms of age restrictions and mandatory addiction warnings while in the US, state-level regulation exists across variety across jurisdictions. This allows pragmatic balance of consumer protection and revenue generation. In South Korea, skill-based pay-to-play is allowed under disclosure.
India’s new law marks a striking shift from a booming USD 3–8 billion online gaming industry to an immediate halt on real-money gameplay. The rise of esports and educational games offers hope—but implementation, clarity, and legal resolution will be critical.