Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
Seeking to address concerns of the industry mired in uncertainties since the passing of the online gaming legislation, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and officials of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) met industry representatives on Monday (September 1, 2025), according to government sources aware of the development.
The attendees discussed potential avenues for an orderly transition to the new legislative regime and ways to protect users’ money, alongside promotion of eSports and social games in the country.
The sources further informed that it was noted that the industry has taken steps to ensure compliance with the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 which was cleared by both the houses August 21 and received the President’s assent a day later.
‘Death knell’ for the industry
The legislation seeks to “prohibit the offering, operation, facilitation, advertisement, promotion and participation in online money games”. Thus, it specifically targeted firms that offered fantasy sports and online card games entailing the prospect of risking money.
Whilst moving the bill in parliament, Mr. Vaishnaw had argued, “Many people get addicted, lifetime savings evaporate in games, and with the algorithms in use, there may be untold levels of fraud and cheating.”
In a joint letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah on August 20, several industry bodies placed their apprehensions about the blanket ban being a “death knell” for the industry and pushing people towards illegal offshore betting and gambling platforms.
Although the two largest real money gaming firms, Dream11 and Gameskraft, have indicated their unwillingness to challenge the legislation, their industry peer, Mobile Premier League (MPL), is seeking to sack about 60% of their local workforce, as learnt from a source in the company.
Published – September 01, 2025 04:32 pm IST
