The rapid progress made by the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, which prohibits offering or aiding online money games, in both houses of Parliament, will bring relief to many families that have struggled with the addictive, impoverishing and sometimes fatal consequences of gambling on the Internet. A variety of online forums and apps have snared vulnerable individuals into staking their meagre earnings in the hope of scoring a windfall win. While in the physical world, the sobering reality that ‘the house always wins’ is well known, the online dens often do not have a recognised provenance or rules and deceptively position themselves as forums where skill and perseverance bring a bonanza. Such claims also helped skirt laws that ban physical gambling with real money. An earlier prohibition effort by the Tamil Nadu government had limited legal success. When the new bill becomes law with the requisite rules, it should be possible to seal off the gaps that have been exploited thus far. Among the major features of the legislation is a comprehensive ban on all online money games, where the player uses real money or stakes in the expectation of monetary or other enrichment, and no distinction is to be made whether it is a game of skill or chance or both. The prescription of up to three years imprisonment or a fine of up to Rs 1 crore or both promises to have a deterrent effect on carpetbagging operators who mushroomed in an unregulated landscape.
Online gaming for money is different from conventional forms because of the ability to make large wagers anonymously, along with continuous gambling, rapid feedback and instant access to a vast number of betting options. In fact, psychiatrists differentiate gambling disorder from internet addiction or gaming disorder and place it along with substance abuse problems. Those suffering from gambling addiction also have a higher risk of suicide than those with other addiction disorders, the US data show. On the economic front, the use of digital forms of money seems to deepen involvement and losses, since people feel that they are not spending ‘real’ money. There is also the familiar phenomenon of widespread availability of such gambling centres, leading to higher addiction rates. At the same time, apparently mindful of the overall economic footprint of the online gambling industry and the larger question of jobs connected with it, the Union government’s law also provides for e-sports and online social games to be started, with fees and prizes, but not bets or stakes; the sector will be regulated by a new authority. There is bound to be a strong pushback from the existing players, who collectively operate a cyber-casino with annual transaction volumes of a reported Rs 30,000 crore. But a prohibition on addictive gambling under the guise of gaming has wide societal support.
