Devil's Advocate: India’s Real Money Gambling Prohibition is a Mistake

Any hope of India implementing pro-licensing online casino and betting regulation in the near future has been squashed by the passing of the ‘Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill 2025’ this month.

 The Lok Sabha Bans Gambling for Money

While the various states in India have the right to determine whether they will allow games of chance and games of skill for real money, India’s federal laws have continued to resist nationwide regulation.

With the global success of online gambling regulation across Europe, Asia, and the Americas, there were hopes that India would follow suit and create a regulatory framework for online casinos and sports betting that would support players and the iGaming industry.

However, the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of India, passed the ‘Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill 2025’, which expressly states a prohibition on “offering, operating, or facilitating online money games” in India.

Notable Caveat for Esports and Social Gaming

While the government has banned online slots, card games and other real money games where players stand to win money for their wagers, they support the growth of the social gaming sector and esports betting.

Social casino games look and play just like real money games, including paying with real money for spins on social slots, rummy games, and others. However, while this ticks all the gambling triggers, they can only climb leaderboards, not win any money. This in itself could lead to players searching out unlicensed operations to turn those fun wins into real wins.

The government is also supportive of the Esports sector. With Riot Games now accepting gambling sponsors, and most sportsbooks offering odds on Dota 2, League of Legends, CS:GO, and other esports, this feels like an argument for betting not being the same as casino gaming. With sportsbooks offering virtual sports, scratch cards, and other instant games, there is a blurred line nowadays between bookmaker and casino.

 Are Gambling Harms a Self-Perpetuated Problem?

When looking at the reasoning behind doubling down on the prohibition of real money games of chance, the government announcements said the following:

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The Minister highlighted that online money gaming posed a serious concern in society as it creates addiction, leading to financial fraud and cheating.

Further, going on to add

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The Bill will protect the country’s youth from predatory online Real Money Gaming apps, like Poker, Rummy and other Card games, which manipulate them through misleading monetary return promises.

However, these are problems which have largely been countered by countries that have regulated gambling within their borders and focused their attention on increasing market channelisation.

This is because focusing on the above includes financial controls through local banking payment processors, restrictions on advertising with unrealistically large bonuses, protecting vulnerable groups from predatory advertising, and offering therapy and support groups for individuals and families dealing with gambling addiction (paid for by the casinos themselves).

With the concerns raised by Ashwini Vaishnaw, the Electronics and Information Technology Minister, it makes more sense statistically to regulate federally and then work with banks, crypto processors, and licensed operators to avoid harmful promotions and ads targeting youth and other at-risk groups.