Real money gaming (RMG) firms struck a cautious tone in responding to the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, which was passed by the Lok Sabha on Wednesday (August 20, 2025). The Bill prohibits any sort of online game that accepts money from users in exchange for a chance to win a return on the money, or risk losing what they put in.
The E-Gaming Federation (EGF), which represents Games24x7 and RummyCircle, two RMG platforms, said that the Bill was a “distinct opportunity to establish a framework that safeguards players while promoting responsible growth in a sunrise sector.” It added, “Thoughtful regulation can amplify the positive impact while ensuring responsible and fair practices remain at the core.” The Bill would force these firms to stop offering pay-to-play games. Commissions on these games are a principal revenue stream for RMG firms.
‘Death knell’
In a letter to Home Minister Amit Shah, the firms underlined their anxieties more explicitly. “Such a blanket prohibition would strike a death knell for this legitimate, job-creating industry, and would cause serious harm to Indian users and citizens,” the EGF said, along with the All India Gaming Federation and the Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports.
“Fly-by-night” offshore firms would proliferate, investor sentiment would be dampened, and two lakh people would lose their jobs, the letter argued.
Video gaming is distinct category
Video game companies, which have complained in the past about their industries being conflated with the RMG industry under the umbrella “gaming” label, welcomed the Bill. “For the last two years, the singular demand of the Indian video games industry has been recognition and categorisation as a distinct industry-business, not clubbed with online money games,” Harish Chengaiah, CEO of Chennai-based Outlier Games said. “With the proposed Bill, that demand has finally been met, and we thank the Government of India for it.”
The Bill may find takers across the political spectrum, but few voices of support emerged from the Opposition, amid the standoff on the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar and allegations of “vote theft” by the INDIA coalition. However, Karnataka IT Minister Priyank Kharge and Congress MP Karti Chidambaram have both expressed concerns that an outright prohibition may not fix the problem and instead promote offshore gambling operators’ attempts to make inroads among Indian users.
