India, Aug. 20 -- The Lok Sabha passed the bill to ban online gaming involving real money - citing instances of gambling addiction, money laundering and financial frauds - on Wednesday.

The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, was tabled in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday (20 August 2025) to prohibit promotion and operation of gaming apps that require users to pay money to win cash. The move threatens India's $3.8 billion gaming industry that has drawn global investors and fostered fantasy sports apps like Dream11, Games24X7 and Mobile Premier League.

"The government believes that the harms of addiction, financial loss and even extreme consequences such as suicides associated with online money gaming can be prevented by prev...