India’s parliament has passed a landmark law banning online gambling after government data revealed that 450 million people lost a total of $2.3 billion annually on gaming apps.
The ban targets platforms offering card games, poker, and fantasy sports, including India’s popular fantasy cricket apps. Officials said roughly one-third of the country’s population had lost money through online gambling.
The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, passed by both houses of parliament late Thursday, criminalizes the offering, promotion, and financing of such games. Offenders could face up to five years in prison.
“This legislation is designed to curb addiction, financial ruin, and social distress caused by predatory gaming platforms that thrive on misleading promises of quick wealth,” the government said.
India’s broader gaming industry remains one of the largest globally, but the law makes exceptions for e-sports and educational games, which the government plans to promote as part of its digital economy strategy.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the law will “encourage e-sports and online social games” while “saving our society from the harmful effects of online money games.”
Industry groups had called for regulation and taxation rather than an outright ban, warning that it could push players to illegal offshore platforms. Supporters of the bill argue the social costs of online gambling—financial distress, addiction, and even suicide—are too high to ignore.
Officials also linked online gambling to fraud, money laundering, and terrorism financing. Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw emphasized that the law distinguishes between online “social” games and games played for money.
“It encourages e-sports, which are organized competitive video games, and promotes safe online social and educational games,” a government briefing stated. “It separates constructive digital recreation from betting, gambling, and fantasy money games that exploit users with false promises of profit.”
