The bill seeks to promote and frame the regulations for one segment of online gaming industry which includes e-sports, educational games and social gaming. It will identify the authority to oversee the regulation and development of this segment.
However, the Bill seeks to prohibit online money games (explained below), where the activity is considered harmful for the vulnerable section of the population such as youth, which can have adverse social, economic, psychological or privacy-related issues.
The Bill bans all online money games. These are games where a user pays fees or deposits money or other stakes, in expectations of winning money or other stakes. The ban on money games is irrespective of whether the game is based on skill or chance. The definition of online money games excludes e-sports and social games (explained below).
The ban is quite comprehensive. It says
The Bill says that the fast-paced growth of online money games, which give large monetary gains, can cause serious financial and psychological harm to the young individuals, especially from economically underprivileged sections.
Many of these games use “manipulative design features, addictive algorithms, bots and undisclosed agents, undermining fairness, transparency and user protection.” The advertising of these platforms is carried out very aggressively, using celebrities and influencers.
Authorities have found links between online gaming platforms and unlawful activities, including financial fraud, money-laundering, tax evasion, and in some cases, the financing of terrorism, thereby posing threats to national security.
Many of these platforms operate from foreign jurisdictions, “bypassing domestic laws, undermining state-level regulations, and presenting significant enforcement challenges in terms of extra-territorial jurisdiction and inter-state inconsistencies”.
The Bill defines “e-sport” as an online game which is played as part of multi-sports events, involves organised competitive events between individuals or teams, conducted in multiplayer formats governed by predefined rules. It must be recognised under the National Sports Governance Act, 2025, and registered with the Authority. The outcome determined solely by factors such as physical dexterity, mental agility, strategic thinking or other similar skills of users as players.
These games may include payment of registration or participation fees solely for the purpose of entering the competition or covering administrative costs and may include performance-based prize money by the player; and shall not involve the placing of bets, wagers or any other stakes by any person, whether or not such person is a participant.
Online social games are those which do not involve staking of money or other stakes or participation with the expectation of winning by way of monetary gain or other stakes. However, these may allow access through payment of a subscription fee or one-time access fee, provided that such payment is not in the nature of a stake or wager.
These games are offered solely for entertainment, recreation or skill-development purposes; and is not an online money game or e-sport.
Regulations are to be formed for organising and conducting e-sports events, for establishing training academies, research centres and other institutions dedicated to advancement of e-sports; for introducing incentive schemes, awareness campaigns and public outreach programmes to encourage innovation and establishment of new enterprises to create e-sport technology platforms etc.
With regard the social games, the Centre shall create the process for registration of online social games; create platforms or programmes to support the development and distribution of online social games; and try to increase public access to safe and age-appropriate social gaming content.
Published on August 20, 2025
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