Deputy Editor
India’s parliament has passed the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, effectively ending real-money gambling, including poker, in the country. While the bill has yet to become law officially, major poker companies have already begun announcing the closure of their real-money products in the market.
The new legislation draws a distinction between real-money games and social games. It also features carve-outs for esports and educational games.
“This legislation is designed to curb addiction, financial ruin, and social distress caused by predatory gaming platforms that thrive on misleading promises of quick wealth,” a government statement said.
Although the bill technically needs the president’s signature to become law, the writing appears to be on the wall after India’s parliament swiftly passed it. Many online operators are treating it as a done deal.
The government claims online gambling has cost its populace more than $2 billion annually, according to Al Jazeera.
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What Does India’s New Online Gaming Bill Do?
India’s online gambling ban establishes a possible five-year prison sentence for anyone offering and promoting such games.
No person shall offer, aid, abet, induce or otherwise indulge or engage in the offering of online money game and online money gaming service. No person shall make, cause to be made, aid, abet, induce, or otherwise be involved in the making or causing to be made any advertisement, in any media including electronic means of communication, which directly or indirectly promotes or induces any person to play any online money game or indulge in any activity promoting online money gaming.
India’s prime minister cited saving the country from “the harmful effects of online money games” as the driving force behind the legislation. The government linked online gambling to fraud, money laundering and even terrorism.
The vast population of India — more than 1.4 billion — has encouraged big-name poker brands like PokerStars and the World Poker Tour to invest in growing the game there.
Now, PokerStars’ parent company, Flutter, is among the brands already pulling their local real-money product (Junglee Poker). PokerBaazi, another popular platform in India, has done the same.
Image credit: Nick Youngson/Pix4free (license)
