The Rajya Sabha had passed The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025 on the last day of the Monsoon Session, a day after the Lok Sabha had cleared it. The legislation had aimed to prohibit the operation, facilitation, and advertisement of online games played with money, as the government had moved to address concerns of rising addiction, financial fraud, and money laundering through such applications.
Piloted by Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw, the Bill had been passed in the Upper House without debate, with Opposition members having continued to raise slogans demanding a discussion on the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar.
#MonsoonSession2025
— SansadTV (@sansad_tv) August 21, 2025
I&B Minister @AshwiniVaishnaw moves The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, as passed by Lok Sabha for consideration and passing in #Rajyasabha@MIB_India@harivansh1956 pic.twitter.com/IHajgvuOdB
Once enacted, the Bill had proposed stringent penalties, including imprisonment of up to three years and/or a fine of up to Rs 1 crore, for those offering or facilitating money-based online gaming.
The move had signaled a potential impact on several leading platforms such as Dream11, My11Circle, Howzat, SG11 Fantasy, WinZO, and Games24x7, which had thrived on the real-money gaming model.
Both Houses of Parliament had been adjourned sine die following the Bill’s passage.
