President Droupadi Murmu gives assent to Online Gaming Bill

New Delhi: The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, which aims to regulate the online gaming sector, received President Droupadi Murmu’s assent on Friday.

"The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, receives President Droupadi Murmu's assent," a spokesperson for the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) confirmed.

Following the assent, a notification will be issued to declare the date when the legislation comes into effect.

This Bill, passed by both Houses of Parliament, prohibits all forms of online money games and promotes eSports and online social gaming, imposing penalties of up to three years imprisonment and fines reaching Rs 1 crore for facilitators. Advertising such platforms carries sentences of up to two years and fines of Rs 50 lakh.

Earlier in the day, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology Secretary S Krishnan said that soon his Ministry will draft rules. "As the bill is structured, even without rules, there are certain provisions that can come into force immediately. But that is a decision we will take,” he said.

IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, while introducing the bill in Rajya Sabha on Thursday, said that it estimates that 45 crore people have fallen victim to online money games. More than Rs 20,000 crore of our middle-class families' hard-earned money has been destroyed.

Insisting that the World Health Organisation has declared it a gaming disorder, the Minister said that online money gaming has become a public health risk due to psychological disorders, compulsive behaviour, withdrawal symptoms, and violent behaviour.