Real -money gambling companies, as India is moving to propose a general ban on their activities under a new legislation.
The Indian government plans to ban games in real money-whether it is based on skills or on luck-in the proposed arrangement of online gambling regulation, according to a plan seen by TechCrunch, which was also verified by three sources, including a consultant with the Ministry of Informatics and the Ministry of Informatics.
It is proposed to be called the promotion and regulation of the online gambling law in 2025, the legislation will limit online games that include real money and illegal advertising and financial transactions.
“It does not participate, will not facilitate or otherwise facilitate the authorization or any other person who facilitates financial transactions or the authorization of funds, the license, the ABET, the profession or the facilitation of any transaction or authorization of any money for any payment for any payment.”
The real money game was the largest revenue driver for the Indian gaming industry, which created $ 3.8 billion revenue in the financial year 2023-24-increment 23% on a yearly basis, per. recent report From the company VC that focuses on the Lumikai game. Only real money games represented $ 2.4 billion from this total, the company said.
However, the sector has undergone increasing examination amid public concerns about incidents of damage – including cases where Reportedly, individuals died of suicide After the loss of large sums of money in the games. Industry bodies greatly attribute these incidents Applications for offshore bets and gamblingthat continue to operate – and even expand – Despite the repeated claims of federal and state authorities for enforcement actions site block and freezing the account.
In 2023, the Indian government imposed a 28% tax on online gambling to limit the game to real money-a move called “disastrous” and “unconstitutional”. Top investors, including Tiger Global and Kotak, urged Prime Minister Modi to review, warning of $ 2.5 billion and $ 1 million job losses. The tax remained, though companies have challenged his retroactive application to the Supreme Court. However, this could rise to 40% According to new rules, some recent reports have been proposed.
The draft legislation states that real money gambling companies could face imprisonment for up to three years, a fine of up to 10 million (about $ 115,000) or both. Similarly, celebrities promoting such games on any media platform could be responsible for up to two years in prison or a fine of 5 million (about $ 57,000). The bill also authorizes the Indian government to create a regulatory authority to oversee its implementation.
“Businesses will close if the legislation comes into force,” said the founder of a leading Indian game starting game.
Investors are also concerned about the proposed law, which is expected to be submitted to the Indian Parliament soon for debate.
“All unicorns in this area are going to be significantly affected by movement, if a reality,” said one investor in Indian newly established real money games if they do not agree to be mentioned as a file, as the proposal has not yet been released by the Indian government.
Dream Sports, Games24x7 and Winzo are among India’s top newly established games. Collectively, they have increased billions of dollars and generate significant revenue from millions of users. India has the largest number of newly established games in real money worldwide, per Tracxn, followed by the US and the United Kingdom.
While many of these companies also offer unusual games, one founder told Techcrunch that real money games represent over 85% of their total revenue. They did not comment on the archive, as the plan is not public, but agreed to share their thoughts anonymously.
Similarly, some newly established companies have explored outside India to maintain their business amid regulatory challenges in the country. This is also not fruitful for them yet, as they produce almost 100% of their revenue from India only, said the founder mentioned above.
This is not the first time New Delhi seemed to regulate games in real money. In 2023, the Indian Government modified The rules of information technology (intermediate guidelines and code of digital media ethics), 2021, to limit the “user damage” associated with real money games. He proposed the creation of self -regulating bodies for the approval of legal games, while limiting illegal bets and gambling. However, the The self -regulation model has retreated Due to conflict between industry interested parties on enforcement and standards.
Local reports on Tuesday suggested that India’s cabinet had cleared the proposed account for its introduction to the lower body of Parliament already on Wednesday. However, the Indian government did not confirm the evolution.
India’s IT ministry did not respond to a request for comments.
