Online Gaming Bill Awaits President's Nod for Rollout: MeitY Secretary

The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, passed by the Parliament, now awaits the President's assent.

- TBG NETWORK

Once the President gives assent to the Bill, a notification will follow to announce the date on which the Bill will come into effect, said S Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and IT, speaking to ANI.

However, the structure of the legislation allows certain provisions to come into force immediately, even in the absence of finalized rules. "We also have to draft the rules under the bill, and issue the rules which are required to be drafted. As the bill is structured, even without rules, because the rules govern certain aspects, there are certain provisions in the bill which can come into force without the rules, but that is a decision we will take," he said.

The secretary acknowledged that the new legislation is expected to result in some loss in GST collections. Going by estimates, the annual losses to the exchequer are expected to be around Rs 15,000-20,000 crore.