The Online Gaming Bill, 2025 — Explained! 🔥
India’s online gaming industry was booming.
Apps like Dream11, MPL, RummyCircle, and PokerBaazi had millions of users. Startups were valued at billions. Investors poured in money.
But beneath the surface, a crisis was growing… 🧵
Addiction stories became headlines.
Students lost fees, workers lost salaries, families lost savings.
Some even took extreme steps... suicides linked to real-money gaming rose alarmingly.
🚨 And then came something scarier: terror funding & money laundering via gaming apps.
👉 Until now, India had no uniform law for online gaming.
India only had the Public Gambling Act of 1867 and scattered state laws.
Some states said rummy = skill, others banned it.
The Supreme Court kept getting petitions. But the industry thrived in this grey zone.
Finally, the government acted.
The Promotion & Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 (popularly called the Online Gaming Bill) was passed in Parliament and signed into law.
Its core idea is to...
👉 Ban harmful money games
👉 Promote safe, cultural, and skill-based gaming (like e-sports & educational games)
The message is clear... Gaming is welcome, gambling is not.
So what exactly does the law do?
➡️ Total Ban on Real-Money Games – whether it’s poker, rummy, fantasy cricket, or any app where money is staked.
➡️ No loopholes – doesn’t matter if you call it “skill” or “chance.”
➡️ Ban on financial support – banks, UPI, wallets can’t process these payments anymore.
👉 But the Bill isn’t against gaming itself.
In fact, it encourages e-sports... treating it like a real sport.
Think competitive video gaming, coding contests, or digital skill-based challenges. These will now get official recognition and promotion.
To regulate this new ecosystem, a National Online Gaming Commission (NOGC) will be set up.
It will:
— Classify games (allowed vs banned)
— Issue licenses
— Handle complaints
— Block illegal apps/websites
👉 Finally, one central authority instead of confusing state-level rules.
And what if someone breaks the law?
The penalties are strict:
👉 Run a money-gaming app → Jail up to 3 years + ₹1 crore fine
👉 Advertise banned games → Jail up to 2 years + ₹50 lakh fine
👉 Repeat offenders → Up to 5 years + ₹2 crore fine
👉 Even foreign apps will be blocked if they target Indian users.
👉 This law is already shaking up the industry:
— Dream11 backed out as Team India’s title sponsor.
— Platforms like MPL, Zupee, PokerBaazi can’t accept new deposits.
— Investors fear losses worth billions of dollars.
The “real-money gaming boom” is over.
But for players, there’s some relief...
Your existing wallet balances are safe and withdrawable.
👉 For entrepreneurs, new opportunities open up in e-sports, educational, and cultural gaming.
👉 For society, the Bill promises safety: less addiction, less fraud, and more positive use of gaming.
But the real question is:
👉 Will this law actually protect people, or push money games underground?
Share your thoughts below 👇
Loved the Insights?
Follow @_TheTathya for more simplified updates!
👉 If you find this thread informative, please support me at — TheTathya@upi / ko-fi.com/thetathya
Share this Scrolly Tale with your friends.
A Scrolly Tale is a new way to read Twitter threads with a more visually immersive experience.
Discover more beautiful Scrolly Tales like this.