The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, which aims to encourage e-sports and online social games while completely prohibiting online money gaming, including services, advertisements, and financial transactions associated with them.
Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw, introducing the Bill, said the legislation seeks to protect society while promoting the growth of legitimate online gaming. “When it comes to society and the government revenue, our Prime Minister has always chosen society. Never have we compromised the interest of society,” he said, urging members to pass the Bill unanimously. The Bill was ultimately passed by voice vote amid some Opposition slogans.
Vaishnaw outlined three segments of online gaming. E-sports, which involves strategic thinking, team-building, and cultural exchange, and online social games such as Solitaire, Chess, and Sudoku, are considered educative and entertaining. However, online money games pose a serious societal concern. “Many families have been devastated, and some have even died by suicide,” the minister said, citing addiction, financial losses, opaque algorithms, and incidents of fraud, cheating, money laundering, and even terror financing.
The Bill clarifies that players of online money games will not be penalised. Only service providers, advertisers, promoters, and financial supporters of such games will face legal consequences. Offences related to offering or facilitating online money games may attract imprisonment up to three years and/or a fine of up to Rs 1 crore. Advertising violations can lead to imprisonment up to two years and/or fines up to Rs 50 lakh, while repeat offences may invite enhanced penalties of three to five years imprisonment and fines up to Rs 2 crore. Key offences will be cognizable and non-bailable.
The government will also empower authorised officers to investigate, search, and seize digital or physical property linked to offences, with authority to enter premises and arrest without warrant in certain cases of suspected violations.
