The Indian parliament has passed a bill that will ban all real-money online gaming, including skill games such as fantasy sports and poker.
Reuters reports that India’s upper house passed the controversial Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill 2025 after the lower house cleared it earlier this week, with it now considered a formality that the President will imminently sign the bill into law.
Under the bill, anyone offering real-money online games would face a jail term of up to three years plus a fine.
The sudden and rapid passage of the bill has shocked the industry, which has in recent years enjoyed rapid growth on the backing of venture capital firms and celebrity promotions by high-profile sports stars – particularly members of India’s massively popular cricket team. According to Reuters, the fantasy segment alone was expected to be worth US$3.6 billion by 2029.
Other skill games like poker and rummy are also popular in India.
The bill itself looks to “prohibit the offering, operation, facilitation, advertisement, promotion and participation in online money games” and specifically targets firms that offer fantasy sports and card games where users can deposit and risk money.
IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told parliament on Thursday, “It is the duty of the government and the parliament to take strict action against social evils, which keep erupting time and again.”
It is expected that industry representatives could challenge the ban in the Supreme Court given a lack of consultation and the potential impact on employment.
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