Government officials, including Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw, reportedly held discussions on Monday with companies affected by the Online Gambling Bill, 2025. The Information Technology Minister is said to have met with representatives and industry stakeholders to discuss the impact of the bill, which was recently approved by Parliament, and highlighted an “orderly transition” for companies offering real-money games, which are banned under the new rules.
Government officials meet with real money gaming companies
A report by Moneycontrol quoted government sources as saying that discussions between Vaishnaw and industry representatives focused on the promotion of online and social gaming and esports, which remain outside the ambit of the new gaming regulations. The Online Gaming Promotion and Regulation Bill, passed by Parliament in August, only seeks to ban real-money games, many of which fall into a legal gray area in India and describe themselves as skill-based games.
Betting and gambling are banned in most parts of India, and the country’s game developers and publishers have long sought to differentiate themselves from real-money games.
In meetings with companies that operated real-money games before the ban, government officials reportedly stressed the importance of an “orderly transition” for affected companies and called for measures to protect users’ funds. Many of these real money gaming platforms, including Dream11, MPL and Zupee, have ceased operations following the ban.
Affected companies have reportedly informed government officials that they are shutting down their real-money gaming operations and working with payment intermediaries to ensure compliance with the new law.
However, not all companies fully support the real-money gaming ban. A23, a company that operates online rummy and poker games, has challenged the new rules in the Karnataka High Court, Reuters reported last week. In court documents, the company called the new gaming regulations “a product of state paternalism” and said it would “criminalize the legitimate business of playing online skill games, which will result in the collapse of multiple gaming companies overnight.”
Last week, a group of game developers and publishers also announced the formation of an industry body to provide a unified voice for policies in the Indian gaming industry. The Indian Game Publishers and Developers Association (IGPDA) includes studios such as SuperGaming, Reliance Games, Dot9 Games and others.
The Upper House of Parliament approved the Online Gambling Bill 2025 on August 21, a day after the bill was passed in the Lok Sabha. The bill seeks to ban all forms of real-money gaming while promoting esports and online gaming. It also prohibits advertising related to real-money games and platforms, and bans banks and financial institutions from facilitating real-money games or transferring funds.
