Paper: GS-II, Subject: Polity, Subject: Legal issues, Issue: Issues with the recent gaming ban bill.
Context:
The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025 has been passed by both Houses of Parliament and aims to promote e-sports and social games while banning Real Money Gaming (RMG) i.e., games involving monetary stakes directly or indirectly.
Key Provisions of the Bill:
- Ban on real money gaming (RMG) to curb financial fraud, money laundering, and addiction.
- Promote e-sports and social games.
- Address social, financial, psychological, and public health harms of RMG.
- No dedicated institutional or legal framework yet for promotion of e-sports in India.
Rationale Behind the Ban
Concerns and Criticism:
Way forward- alternative approaches:
- Enforce access controls & self-exclusion tools.
- Mandate reporting of suspicious financial behaviour.
- Compulsory referral systems for gaming addiction cases.
- Penalise entities failing to comply.
- Encourage regulated industry rather than outright bans.
- Develop a regulatory framework for online gaming rather than bans.
- Strengthen institutional mechanisms for unbiased feedback and stakeholder consultation.
- Balance public health concerns with economic potential of the sector.
- Improve data quality & evidence-based policy design across sectors.
Conclusion: There is a need for data-driven policymaking. Over-reliance on anecdotal reports, media pressure, and petitions distorts governance priorities. Need to focus on structured evidence, GST collections, employment impact, social behaviour data before passing blanket bans.
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