On Wednesday, the lower parliament of India approved a comprehensive gaming bill online, and while, while promoting electronic sports and informal games without financial shares, it imposes a comprehensive ban on real money games-which threatens to disrupt billions of dollars in investment and greatly affects the real game industry, which can witness a widespread closure.
The legislation entitled Promoting and Organizing the Bill on the Games online, 2025, aims to ban real money games at the country-whether it is based on skill or opportunity-prohibiting both their ads and related financial transactions, such as Techcrunch I mentioned Earlier based on a draft version.
“In this law, priority was given to the well -being of society and avoid the great evil that infiltrates society,” said the Minister of Information Technology in India, Ashwini Fishnaw, in Parliament, while submitting the draft law.
The proposed legislation restricts banks and other financial institutions to allow real games transactions in the country. Anyone who offers these games may face imprisonment for up to three years, or a fine of up to 10 million dollars (about $ 115,000), or both. In addition, celebrities who promote such games can be on any media platform responsible for a period of up to two years or a fine of $ 5 million (about $ 57,000), the bill explains.
VaishNaw said that the decision to take legislation is to address several incidents of harm, including cases in which individuals are useful by committing suicide after losing games. However, stakeholders in this field greatly attribute these incidents to betting and gambling applications abroad, which many believe will not be addressed by this legislation.
“This law must face litigation because it fails to test the proportionality under Article 19 (1) (g),” said Migna Pal, director of the New Delhi Research Center. “Instead of protecting consumers, it dismantles wild companies compatible with opening the door on a wider scale for illegal betting platforms abroad that are the true source of financial harm.”
Article 19 (1) (g) of the Indian constitution that guarantees citizens the right to practice any profession or withstand any profession, trade or work.
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Before the introduction to the draft law in the Indian Parliament, industry bodies wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday evening, and urged him to intervene. The letter-which was sent by the Indian Fictional Sports Federation, the India Federation of Games, and the electronic federation, which a copy of it was reviewed by Techcrunch-warned that proposed legislation can benefit from “illegal external gambling operations” while forcing Indian companies to close. These industrial bodies represent Dream SPORTS, MPL, Winzo, Gameskraft, Nazara Technologies and ZUPEE, among other real money games.
“By stopping the regulatory and responsible Indian platforms, they will lead (millions) of players in the hands of the illegal Matka networks, gambling sites abroad, and aviation operators who work without any guarantees, consumer protection or taxes.” (MATKA is a form of illegal gambling that has arisen in India, which involves betting on random numbers.)
The three industrial bodies have estimated that startups for real games in India has a joint evaluation of institutions of $ 2 trillion (about 23 billion dollars), generating cumulative revenues of $ 310 billion (about $ 3.6 billion), contributing 200 billion dollars (about $ 2.29 billion) annually and unlimited tax. It also shows an annual growth rate of 28 % that would double the volume of industry by 2028. Industry groups have warned that a comprehensive ban may lead to the loss of more than 200,000 jobs and the closure of more than 400 companies.
A similar letter was also written to the Indian Interior Minister Amit Shah by these three industrial associations. Some Indian and international investors also told their response, and he told a person familiar with Techcrunch. The source does not want his name, because the plans were not general.
Publicly listed Nazara Technologies, which previously invested in real money platforms including PokerBaazi and Classic Rummy, witnessed the share price of 12.84 % on Wednesday to close at $ 1220 (about $ 14). The company, however, was clarified earlier in a The stock exchange (PDF) that it does not contain “direct exposure” to the real money games companies and that these platforms do not contribute to their revenues based on their latest financial data.
Dream SPORTS and MPL, one of the best startups for real games, refused to comment, while Winzo, another famous start, did not respond.
The draft law was passed through the audio vote in the noisy parliament, less than seven minutes after it was submitted for discussion. It now requires approval from the Senate and the President to become a law.
Meanwhile, some companies in informal games and electronic sports welcomed this step.
“We salute this decision because it allows us to focus on continuous fears as a business-ticking business, keep it, and most importantly, instead of having to clarify our fans, which is part of the Indian Krafton games,” said Sumit Pathta, CEO and co-founder of ginger games, which are part of the Krafton Gaming games.
Krafton is the South Korean game behind Battle Royale Popular Pubg.
Akshat Rahari, co -founder and administrative director of Esports Nodwin Gaming, which is also a subsidiary of Nazara Technologies.
“The lack of accurate definitions often leads to mystery and confusion about the term” electronic sports “. Such interference can create ambiguity not only for organizers, but also for players, teams, investors and organizers who are working hard to build this industry.
Bal Techcrunch also told that the draft law “removes e -sports”, as an authority established by the Indian government, will decide the health of electronic sports.
She said: “The impact exceeds the real money games of the broader ecosystem for the companies that depend on it and they actually offer serious effects on the AVGC sector (animation, visual effects, games, and comedy) as a whole.”
In 2023, the Indian government an average Information technology rules (intermediate instructions and digital media ethics rules), 2021, to reduce the “user damage” of real money games and the proposed self -organizational bodies to reduce illegal bets and gambling while allowing legal games. However, the self -organization approach due to the conflicts between the stakeholders in the industry stumbled on implementation and standards.
New Delhi 28 % tax imposition On online games in 2023 to reduce play in real money, prompting detention from stakeholders in the industry. Senior Investors – including Tiger Global, Peak XV Partners and Kotak – Moody urged reconsideration2.5 billion dollars warnings of the potential deletion and loss of a million jobs. However, the tax remained in place, even when companies challenged their request retroactively in the Supreme Court. Modern reports indicate that it may be reviewed to 40 % under new rules.
The founding partner of the New Delhi Public Policy Company, The Quantum Hub, told Techcrunch that the real problem in the new bill is the lack of due legal procedures.
He said: “The organization is necessary, but sudden movements such as these undermine India’s reputation as a stable investment destination. If there are concerns, the government must have clearly referred to it from the beginning.”
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