Signing imminent
Online gambling is about to become illegal in India. On Thursday, both houses of parliament passed the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, which bans the offering, promotion, and financing of online gambling, making them criminal acts with maximum sentences of five years in prison.
The prohibition covers just about every form of gambling, including poker, other card games, and fantasy sports. There are some carveouts, although they really weren’t gambling in the first place.
“It [the bill] encourages e-sports, which are organized competitive video games, and promotes safe online social and educational games,” said a government briefing note.
The president must still sign the bill to make it law, but that is expected.
Attempt to protect consumers
Lawmakers believe the online gambling ban is necessary to protect the well-being of India’s residents.
“This legislation is designed to curb addiction, financial ruin and social distress caused by predatory gaming platforms that thrive on misleading promises of quick wealth,” read a government statement.
“It is the duty of the government and the parliament to take strict action against social evils, which keep erupting time and again,” said federal IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
Naturally, Indian gambling organizations are none too pleased about the legislation and may look to challenge it in the Supreme Court. They specifically want skill-based games like poker to be excluded from the ban.
Poker sites halt operations
Among the fallout from the bill is the immediate effect on the country’s multi-billion-dollar online gambling industry. Dream11, India’s largest fantasy sports site, immediately took its offerings offline. All that remains on its home page is a message which reads, “As per The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, cash games and contests have been discontinued on Dream11,” though it does follow that with, “Stay tuned, we’ll back with more!”
Dream 11 just signed a three-year deal in July 2023 to be the lead sponsor for India’s national cricket team.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has not made a decision as to what will happen going forward.
“If it’s not permissible, we’ll not do anything,” BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia said today. “The BCCI will follow every policy of the country that is framed by the central government.”
India’s largest online poker operator, PokerBaazi, has “paused” operations because of the legislation. In a message on its website, the site says that all customer funds are safe and that its player relations team is available to answer questions and concerns.
Nazara Tech, which owns about 46% of PokerBaazi, has seen its stock price fall this week. It closed at INR1,399.70 ($16.03) on Tuesday and now sits at INR1,157.00 ($13.25), a drop of 17.3%.
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