India’s parliament has approved a landmark bill banning online gambling, targeting an industry that officials say drained $2.3 billion each year from nearly 450 million people.
The new law passed over the weekend, criminalises the offering, promotion, and financing of money-based online games such as poker, card games, and fantasy sports, with offenders facing up to five years in prison. Popular fantasy cricket platforms, including Dream11, fall under the ban.
The move throws into question the sponsorship of India’s national cricket team. Dream11, the country’s largest fantasy sports operator, became the team’s lead sponsor in July 2023, with its logo displayed prominently on players’ jerseys. No word has yet come from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on how the ban will affect the deal.
“If it’s not permissible, we’ll not do anything,” BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia said Friday. “The BCCI will follow every policy of the country that is framed by the central government.”
Dream11 confirmed in a statement that it had halted all “cash games and contests” following the passage of the bill, but told fans to “stay tuned.” Other games remained live on Friday, with the measure still awaiting formal approval from the president before becoming law.
The government said the ban was needed to curb addiction, financial ruin, and social distress linked to gambling platforms that “thrive on misleading promises of quick wealth.” Officials also linked the industry to fraud, money laundering, and terrorism financing.
India’s wider gaming sector is among the largest in the world, but the bill makes exceptions for e-sports and educational games, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi said will be promoted as part of the country’s digital economy.
“This legislation will encourage e-sports and online social games,” Modi said. “At the same time, it will save our society from the harmful effects of online money games.”
Technology minister Ashwini Vaishnaw stressed that the law draws a clear line between digital recreation and gambling. “It encourages e-sports, which are organised competitive video games, and promotes safe online social and educational games,” he said. “It clearly separates constructive digital recreation from betting, gambling and fantasy money games that exploit users with false promises of profit.”
Industry groups had urged regulation and taxation instead of a blanket ban, warning it could push users to illegal offshore platforms. But supporters of the bill argued the social costs of unchecked gambling – including mounting debts, addiction, and even suicides – left the government with no other choice.