End of Real Money Games? India's New Online Gaming Bill Explained

Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill 2025

The Indian government has introduced a bill, "Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming 2025", to regulate and promote the online gaming space in India.

If the bill turns into a law, which looks very likely at the moment, this could radically alter the landscape of real money gaming, including gambling in India.

Let's try to understand what this bill is all about.

Purpose

The primary objective of the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, is to both regulate and promote different segments of the online gaming market.

E-sports and Social Games 👍 Real Money Games 👎

The Bill segregates online games into three main categories:

E-sports: Games that demand skill and coordination, where an individual or a team participates in competitive events and tournaments organised by recognised e-sports bodies in and outside India. E.g.: CS2, DOTA, LOL, etc.

Online Social Games: Games that are played for social interaction, learning, and recreation, which typically do not require any money to be deposited. E.g.: Angry Birds.

Online Money Games: Games in which players deposit funds with the expectation of earning monetary returns, such as fantasy sports, rummy, and poker. E.g., Dream11, My11Circle, Probo, Winzo, Lupee, etc.

The new bill seeks to promote e-sports and online social gaming, while completely banning online money gaming.

The bill also states that a regulatory authority will be appointed to issue guidelines, establish a framework including a code of conduct, decide which games qualify as real money and which do not, and ensure compliance.

Timeline of Events

The Online Gaming Bill 2025 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on August 20th, 2025 and approved without debate.

The following day, on August 21st, 2025, the bill was taken up for discussion in the Rajya Sabha and cleared without any ado.

The bill has now been forwarded to the president for approval. And, once the president grants assent, a notification will be issued in the Official Gazette, at which point, the bill will formally become the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025.

While we don't have a timeline yet, it's believed that the law will take some time to be enacted, giving companies in the real money sector a chance to transition.

Are betting websites and apps legal in India?

For the time being, in the absence of a central law, real money gaming sites and apps, including betting sites and apps, continue to operate in a grey area.

Although there's no federal law in place, AS YET, you still need to check your local state laws to see if they've enacted a law expressly banning these gaming and gambling apps.

But when the newly proposed bill becomes a law and comes into effect, the legal status of betting sites and apps will no longer be a grey area.

All websites and apps that involve real money gaming and betting, operating within India, will be explicitly prohibited.

Are offshore betting sites and apps banned as well?

Sites like 1xbet, Stake, BC.Game, Rajabets, and the like have been previously blocked by the government agencies, but continue to operate despite all the challenges.

However, this new bill will significantly alter the entire betting landscape. Since this law specifically mentions platforms operating from offshore jurisdictions, there's no doubt that offshore betting sites and apps will be banned entirely.

We're not legal experts, so if you're unsure whether signing up with or placing bets on these offshore betting sites and apps might breach any laws, we strongly recommend consulting a legal professional.