New MeitY bill: Seeking to make a devil of online money gaming industry?

The new legislation seeking to ban online money gaming in India, which was passed in a jiffy in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, drew mixed response from the industry. While those associated with online money gaming feel they have been ‘criminalised’ without getting a chance to voice their side of the story, major stakeholders of the e-sports fraternity greeted the government move with open arms.

The ‘Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act 2025’ — a long standing demand owing to the so called addictive nature of fantasy sport — is set to affect a booming industry involving around four lakh companies and two lakh jobs.

Under the Bill, platforms such as Dream 11, My 11 Circle (which has some of the biggest names of cricket as brand ambassadors), MPL, Winzo, GamesKraft, 99 Games, Khelo Fantasy, Games 24x7, Pokerbaazi, Rummy and Parimatch will all be prohibited. Dream 11 has been sponsoring Indian cricket teams for a number of years now.

A Times of India report on Thursday says investment to the tune of Rs 25,000 crore and annual GST collections of Rs 20,000 crore may be threatened, though one of the few gaming lawyers in the country feels it’s impractical to stop the business of fantasy gaming.

Speaking to National Herald over phone, Jay Sayta says: ‘’The bill is criminalising the entire industry which is generating so much revenue, but no feedback has been taken from it. One cannot stop such activities which can always continue through offshore companies.’’

Speaking in the Lok Sabha after introducing the Bill, Ashwani Vaishnaw, Union minister for electronics and information technology (MeitY) said: “Over the last 11 years, digital technology has expanded on a massive scale, giving India a new identity. One sector closely tied to this growth is online gaming, which has three key segments.

“The first is e-sports, an emerging field that promotes strategic thinking, teamwork, and cultural exchange. The second is online social games like solitaire, chess and sudoku that many of us have played. The third, however, is online money games — a segment that has become a serious concern for society today.”

The e-sports industry, meanwhile, is elated as Akshat Rathee, co-founder and managing director of NODWIN Gaming said: ‘’The government’s intent to recognise and promote e-sports, as highlighted in the recent Bill, is an encouraging step towards building a structured and globally competitive ecosystem.

"However, for this vision to truly materialise, it is critical that the terminology used in the Bill, particularly the distinctions between -esports, online gaming, online social gaming and online money gaming be clearly defined and uniformly understood. The absence of precise definitions has often led to ambiguity and conflation around the term e-sports.’’

How are professional gamers looking at the pathbreaking Bill? ‘’As players, we’ve already known the grind behind e-sports, long hours of practice, teamwork and constant learning. With the government investing in training and structured events, the upcoming generation of athletes will have a much clearer pathway to pursue e-sports professionally. It’s the kind of support that can really take Indian players to the global stage,’’ said Harsh Paudwal, a BGMI athlete playing for Team iQO Soul.

Under the law, facilitators face up to three years’ imprisonment or fines of Rs 1 crore, or both. Advertising such platforms carries penalties of two years' imprisonment and fines up to Rs 50 lakh.

Opposing the Bill, Megha Bal, director at Esya Centre, a tech policy think tank, said: ''The IT Rules amendment was a proportionate framework that adequately addressed consumer welfare concerns and would have created a way to signal to consumers which platforms can be trusted and which cannot. Most importantly, it gave them an opportunity for recourse. The government has, in one fell swoop, wiped out companies that were onshore and willing to comply with a regulatory framework,” she said.