Online Money Games Banned: Play With Cash, Pay With Life – Or ₹1 Crore Fine and Jail. Big Question Mark on Sukhu Sarkar's Move to Start Lotteries in Himachal.
NEW DELHI/SHIMLA:
The free run for gambling apps is over.
Both Houses of Parliament have passed the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025.
The message is blunt – if you run or promote online betting, poker, rummy, fantasy sports, or lotteries on the net, be ready to bleed.
The penalty is no joke. A fine of up to ₹1 crore. Jail term of up to three years. In some cases, both.
And once the law is notified, there will be no backdoors.
The banking route is closed. Banks, wallets, and UPI apps cannot process payments for betting or fantasy games anymore.
Even if you try to pay, your transaction will be blocked.
The government is choking the money pipe, so the “easy money” market dies a natural death.
PM Narendra Modi called the Bill a milestone.
He said India must become a hub of e-sports, creativity and safe gaming – not fraud factories.
“This Bill will boost innovation while protecting families from ruin,” the PM said.
In short – fun is welcome, but addiction is out.
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw explained why the law takes a hard line.
Players are treated as victims.
But the sharks – service providers, advertisers, fund transfer platforms – will be punished.
“They have destroyed families. They will now face the music,” he said in Parliament.
The data is chilling. Thousands of complaints landed with the government.
Crores of savings from middle-class homes were wiped out.
Credit card bills ran into lakhs. Youngsters fell into a trap of loans and quicksand of debt.
Worse, several suicides were reported – triggered by gambling losses.
Frauds and scams grew like wildfire.
Money laundering channels thrived.
Even terror financing slipped in through these apps.
On top of it, film stars and sports icons were seen glamorizing betting apps, giving them fake legitimacy.
The law now divides gaming into three buckets:
1️⃣ E-sports – Training, teamwork, skill, strategy. ✅ Legal and promoted.
2️⃣ Social Games – Brain puzzles, Angry Birds, safe and casual fun. ✅ Legal and supported.
3️⃣ Online Money Games – Poker, rummy, fantasy, betting, lotteries. ❌ Banned and penalized.
For the youth, the warning is clear.If you play for fun, you’re safe.
If you play for cash, you’re ruined.And if you’re running an “easy money” app, jail is waiting.
The law is a social firewall. To protect children from addiction.
To stop families from collapsing under debt.
To clean up Digital Bharat of spammers, scammers and extortionists.
But here comes the paradox.
While Delhi bans lotteries online, the Himachal Pradesh government under CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has just revived state lotteries after 22 years.
Is it not a direct question mark on the Sarkar’s intent?
If Parliament can put family safety above revenue, why is Himachal pushing citizens towards greed and addiction?
Lotteries don’t create jobs or innovation. They only feed desperation, debt and ruin.
So the choice is open. The onus of the government lies in protecting society and citizens, not pushing them into greed, anger and ruin.
But is Himachal ready to follow – or will it allow lottery addiction to rot its social fabric once again? CM needs to make a rethink and taking a U-turn on this issue. Just to cough up some Rs 40 crore, you will ruin society.
#OnlineGamingBill2025 #DigitalBharat #NoToLotteries #ProtectFamilies #YouthFirst
