MPs welcome Bill on online gaming, Tharoor cautions it would push gambling games 'underground'

New Delhi, Aug 20 (PTI) A bill to regulate online gaming, which was passed by Lok Sabha on Wednesday with voice vote amid din, was welcomed by many MPs who highlighted the "serious problem" of money games harming society, even as Congress MP Shashi Tharoor cautioned that the ban on these games that use money will only push such activities "underground".

Tharoor said that such online games can serve as a useful source of revenue for the government if legalised, regulated and taxed.

The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, bans the operating, facilitating and advertising of online money games, as the government looks to check rising instances of addiction, money laundering and financial fraud through such applications.

Defending the ban, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw asserted that the interests of society will always override the interests of industry.

He noted that the bill will help encourage e-sports and social gaming, and said there was a demand from many MPs to prohibit money gaming because of its harmful effects on society.

"An important bill has been passed in the Lok Sabha today. We all know that online gaming is a major sector of the digital world," Vaishnaw told the media in the Parliament complex.

The minister said the Bill has three segments - the first is e-sports, where players compete in coordinated games across the world.

"India is gaining momentum globally in this segment. These games have been legalised. The second segment is online social games. These are games that are played without any money; there are no bets; there is no wager and no stakes are put in... The government has also provided provisions to promote them in this bill," he said.

The minister said the third segment, which is a cause of concern, is the online games involving money.

"The government is promoting two out of the three segments. That's why this bill is also called Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming... The third segment, which is rising as a cause of concern for society, is online money games. Because of online money games, people are getting addicted," he said.

"There are reports from different places that the savings of the family have gone into gaming. There are extreme cases of suicide in many places. The World Health Organization has also called it an online gaming disorder," he said.

The minister called it a "serious problem" and said several people, including many MPs, had urged him to take action.

"When it comes to the interest of the middle class of the society, and if that interest is compared to an industry segment, the interest of the society, the interest of the middle class families, the interest of the youth is greater. Today, this bill was introduced in the House with the same sentiment," he said.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, however, cautioned that the ban may not end online gaming involving money, and would just push it underground, as is the case with other forms of gambling.

“I had written a long article in 2019 stating that by banning online gaming, we are simply driving it underground, whereas it could actually serve as a useful source of revenue for the government if legalised, regulated, and taxed," Tharoor said, adding that the revenue earned can be used for "worthy social causes".

"What happens when you ban it, unfortunately, it goes underground, and criminal mafia elements who want to make money step in and profit from it. It is not that online gaming will disappear; it will just be driven underground, as we have seen with other kinds of gambling," he told the media.

He added that the Bill should be sent to a Parliamentary committee.  Several MPs, meanwhile, welcomed the Bill.

"It is a historic bill. Everyone is thanking Modiji. People were selling their land and playing these games... Women of the country are thankful for this Bill," BJP MP Ravi Kishan told mediapersons.

BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj said "addictive online games" were adversely affecting people.

"I thank PM Narendra Modi ji for the online gaming bill and the Minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw. It is a milestone. It will encourage social gaming, and steps have been taken to curb addictive online games, gambling, which is adversely affecting people," she told the media.

The  Bill, introduced in the House this noon, was passed without debate as opposition members raised slogans demanding a discussion on the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar by the Election Commission.

BJP MP Sanjay Jaiswal took a dig at the Trinamool Congress, and alleged that they were protesting because they received donations from online gaming companies.

MPs of TMC and other Opposition parties also protested in the Lok Sabha as Union Minister Amit Shah moved three Bills for the removal of prime minister, chief ministers and ministers arrested on serious criminal charges for 30 days.

"The TMC is responsible for the ruckus. Other Opposition parties were protesting from their seats. The main reason is not who will go to jail; the real reason is the Gaming Bill that has been passed. TMC got Rs 542 crore donation from gaming companies. They did this to stop the Bill," Jaiswal alleged. PTI AO AO RT RT