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The Union Government has introduced the 'Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025' (attached) in the Lok Sabha. The Bill seeks to promote and regulate esports, educational, and social games while completely prohibiting the offering, operation, facilitation, advertisement, promotion, and participation in online money games. This is much much-needed step taken by the government to differentiate real money games and skill-based titles like BGMI, Free Fire Max, and Valorant.
Online Gaming Bill 2025 Key Highlights
“E-sport” means an online game played as part of multi-sport events and involves organized competitive events between individuals or teams, conducted in multiplayer formats governed by pre-defined rules and recognized under the National Sports Governance Act, 2025.
Outcomes of e-sports are determined solely by players’ skills such as physical dexterity, mental agility, or strategic thinking. Participation may involve entry fees and performance-based prizes, but no bets, wagers, or gambling are allowed.
The Central Government will take necessary steps to recognize and register e-sports as a legitimate competitive sport in India and to promote its growth. These steps may include setting guidelines for events, establishing training and research institutions, introducing incentives and awareness programs, coordinating with State Governments and sports federations, and implementing other measures to support the development of the sector.
“Online money game” means any online game, based on skill, chance, or both, where a user pays fees, deposits money, or stakes something with the expectation of winning monetary or other rewards. This definition does not include e-sports.
No person shall offer, promote, or engage in online money games or online money gaming services. Similarly, no person shall create, cause, or be involved in any advertisement in any media, including electronic communication, that directly or indirectly encourages participation in online money games or promotes online money gaming.
This is a much-needed bill for gamers, as in India, many times people get confused differentiating between real money games and skill-based games. Recently, when the Government of Maharashtra announced to ban on online gaming in the state, many gamers got panicked because prominent social media pages posted the news using posters of skill-based games like BGMI, Free Fire Max, and Valorant, but it was about the real money games like card games, betting apps, and online casinos. This bill will differentiate the real money games and skill-based esports titles.
