One man’s meat is another man’s poison. The Online Gaming Bill, passed by the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, has given esports companies reasons to cheer about whereas money-spinning real money gaming platforms like Dream XI, My XI Circle, Games 24x7 and others stare at an uncertain future.
The bill seeks to regulate online gaming platforms and curb the surge in illegal betting activities. The draft law aims to bring the entire space under a structured legal framework.
The new bill will ban all money-based online games — whether based on skill or chance — outlaw advertisements for such platforms and block banks and financial institutions from processing transactions. Violators could face up to three years in jail and fines, the bill says.
“It’s a big boost for esports. This bill underlines the importance and the opportunity that esports presents as a distinct segway from the larger online gaming industry,” Abhishek Issar, director of the Delhi-based UNIV Sportatech told The Telegraph.
There are four segments of online gaming — esports, educational gaming, social and casual gaming and real money gaming. The bill seeks to curb the last one.
Advocate Vidushpat Singhania, who specialises in sports, Gaming and entertainment laws, said the bill would spell doom for the real money online gaming industry.
“It will be a death knell to the Indian real money gaming industry, which has in the past decade been a sunrise sector, securing huge FDI, generating jobs and tax revenue for the government,” he said.
“The objective of the bill is to promote and regulate the sector especially when the activity is across states and from foreign jurisdictions, in addition to stop manipulative play. A strict national regulation rather than a prohibition was the need, ” he added.
Singhania does not rule out the possibility of the companies moving court once the bill becomes an act. “When the bill is promulgated, the online gaming companies are likely to challenge it in court on its constitutional vires.”
The sports industry, which has till now benefitted from the rise of the gaming industry, will also feel the pinch. Dream XI and My11Circle are associated with cricket, while some of the other gaming platforms have sponsorship deals in other sporting disciplines.
Surrogate advertisement also will not be possible as it will be treated as an inducement and promotion.
However, Dream Sports Championship football tournament, an under-17 meet approved by the All India Football Federation (AIFF), can go ahead. It will depend on how the advertisement takes place.
Earlier this month, the University Esports Championship (UEC) 2025 national finals were held in the city.
The event, organised by the Hyderabad-based NoScope Gaming with Techno India as the partner, saw 25 teams battling it out. The qualifiers brought together more than 20,000 student gamers. “It was Eastern India’s biggest-ever university esports event,” Abhinandan Mukherjee, project head of NoScope Gaming, said.
“In a first, India will be participating in the VR Tennis Esports World Championship in Las Vegas next month,” he added.
Esports made its debut at the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023, and the International Olympic Committee will organise its first esport Olympic Games in Riyadh in 2027. The ongoing Esports World Cup had a record-breaking prize pool of over $70 million.
The Fifa online games are so popular that the AIFF now wants to focus more on esports. “It’s hugely popular. And the new bill will bring new enthusiasm amongst the esports companies and gamers,” an AIFF official said.