Gamers lose over long term, apps didn't stop huge losses

The Centre is pushing ahead with a ban on real-money online gaming, citing widespread financial losses and societal harm, a move that threatens to shutter dozens of startups in what was once a sunrise sector.

- Shouvik Das

Union minister for IT and broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw said the clampdown on online gaming is not a "knee-jerk" reaction, but a response to thousands of complaints from users who have lost thousands of crores against companies like Dream11 and Rummy Circle.

"Without checks and balances, these companies have time and again refused to safeguard the interest of citizens," Vaishnaw said in an interview. "We found irrefutable proof that the algorithms of online gaming firms are built in such a way that no user can ever emerge as a net winner in the long run."

Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, approved by the Union cabinet a day earlier. The bill now goes to the Rajya Sabha and further to the President for assent, before it becomes law. Vaishnaw said that if the bill does not go to a special committee for vetting, his ministry will move to notify the bill tentatively "within the next three months."