Industry turmoil in India
In a brutal blow to its gambling industry, the Indian government has introduced an outright ban on all ‘real money games’ (RMGs). Devastatingly, it did so without consultation and virtually overnight, throwing the gambling industry into chaos.
Under the new Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, this sweeping move shutters an industry worth $3.8 billion annually, and introduces harsh punishments for those who don’t comply. Projections had the industry turning over $9.1bn a year by 2029.
Is this just the latest in a series of increasingly extreme measures taken by regulators and governments to address issues with gambling, or is there more to it?
Online gambling ban in India
The ban, which was passed into law on August 22, 2025, despite only having been introduced to Parliament two days earlier, applies to what the new bill calls ‘real money games’.
The reasons cited for the ban will be familiar to every regulator around the world – addiction, problem gambling, and associations with crime. However, problem gambling tops the list as the main reason for the introduction of this legislation, with IT Minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, revealing that around 450 million people had been affected for the loss of more than 200 billion rupees.
However, India appears to be alone in considering such extreme measures as an outright ban. Vaishnaw defended the move:
“It is the duty of the government and the parliament to take strict action against social evils, which keep erupting time and again”.
Indian ministers, keen to be seen to protect the people from the emotional and financial distress caused, will also introduce a range of sanctions that include prison sentences and fines of up to 10 million rupees for those offering or promoting RMGs.
The introduction to the bill states:
“Unchecked expansion of online money gaming services has been linked to unlawful activities including financial fraud, money-laundering, tax evasion and in some cases, the financing of terrorism, thereby posing threats to national security, public order and the integrity of the State.”
Flutter response
Flutter, one of the world’s largest online gambling operators, stated that it is “disappointed with this development and has consequently stopped its real-money operations in India effective from August 22, 2025 to comply with this new legislation”.
Flutter also highlighted the loss in revenues that India would suffer:
“Flutter’s Indian operations were expected to contribute approximately $200m revenue and $50m Adjusted EBITDA in 2025”.
Historical protections gone
Drawing additional criticism, the ban also removes the historical protection that has been enjoyed by ‘games of skill’ such as rummy, poker and fantasy sports. While these were not previously treated as gambling under constitutional rights, under the new bill, they are reclassified as RMGs.
Implications of the ban
If there’s one thing that we’ve learnt from the past few years in global gambling regulation, it’s that heavy-handed and rash moves tend not to pay off – in fact, ‘backfire’ may be a better description. They may give the government the appearance of being proactive and concerned with public welfare, but in reality they almost always result in massive pushback.
Objections from operators in the Indian market focus not only on the severity of the new legislation, but with the way in which it has been introduced. There were no consultations, so nobody got a chance to voice any potential concerns, let alone oppose the new bill. This shows a distinct lack of respect for citizens who enjoy gambling, and for an industry that contributes significant amounts to government coffers.
Black market
Most obviously there's the spectre of the black market, with the possibility that players will seek out unlicensed and unregulated operators overseas using VPN connections – something that has become increasingly prevalent in Europe amidst regulatory crackdowns.
On this, Flutter’s CEO Peter Jackson said, “We believe this change will drive customers to the unregulated market, offering limited consumer protections and providing no contribution to the local economy.”
If patterns seen elsewhere around the world are anything to go by (and they are), this is a very real concern. Such an abrupt change to the market could result in an equally abrupt exodus of players, rather than a more gradual shift.
Closures, job losses
The fallout has already begun with many companies shutting down their operations overnight, impacting thousands of jobs. Dream11, one of the most prominent fantasy sports operators in the country, withdrew their lucrative sponsorship of the Indian national cricket team with immediate effect. That has left the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) are now seeking a replacement that can match the level of funding provided by Dream11.
Many of the domestic firms operating in the gambling sector in India were start-ups, backed by considerable venture capital. Many of those will now be forced to scale back their operations or close entirely, with an eye-watering 200,000 jobs thought to be in jeopardy – the Mobile Premier League (MPL) has already revealed plans to shed around 60% of its workforce.
Hit to the economy
There are likely implications for the economy, too. The gambling sector was worth an estimated £2.8 billion to the Indian treasury as of 2024, with forecasts suggesting that would have more than doubled by 2030.
Regulation in India
Unlike many countries, India has historically governed gambling at a state level. Individual states were generally free to make their own rules about the legal status of various forms of gambling.
However, certain organisations within the central government, such as the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), play key roles in drafting legislation that applies to online gambling.
Perhaps this unconventional and fragmented legal system is partly the reason for the apparent hastiness of the new legislation. Regardless, the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act (2025) will see the Indian gambling sector have a new regulator, and seemingly, a 'new broom' which appears to be a step towards a more centralised approach to gambling regulation.
The National Online Gaming Commission (NOGC) will have the power to regulate the sector and license those few firms that will be able to operate on Indian soil post-regulation.
Gambling in India
India has a long, rich gambling history – just one of the reasons that the Indian government’s rash rulemaking has shocked many.
A brief history of gambling in India
Thousands of years before colonial rule, India enjoyed card and dice games. These are referenced, along with gambling, in The Mahabharata, an ancient text dating back to the 3rd century BCE, which is central to Indian and Hindu cultures.
Under British rule, in the 19th century, gambling became formalised and regulated in India under the Public Gambling Act in 1867. Since independence, Indian states have continued to regulate certain forms of gambling, but not others, creating a disjointed legal landscape.
Online gambling arrives in India
In the early 2000s, online gambling began to gain traction in India, but regulation failed to keep up. This resulted in the exploitation of certain loopholes, and disagreements about what exactly constitutes a ‘game of chance’ rather than a ‘game of skill’.
Some states even outlawed online gambling early, or issued a limited number of licences to operators. However, these laws proved ineffective and were not properly enforced.
Some states – notably Daman, Goa and Sikkim – embraced online gambling, allowing operators based overseas to offer sports betting, some casino games and even bingo to Indian players.
Things were made even more confusing by the rise in popularity of fantasy sports, particularly cricket games attached to the Indian Premier League and World Cup.
According to estimates, more than 20 million in India engaged in fantasy sports in 2025 up until August, when the federal law change came in. The majority of those were customers of Dream11, a company employing more than 1,300 people.
Fuelled by the rise of smartphones, and the availability and affordability of mobile internet, online gambling flourished. But then, as seen above, more recently, concerns about addiction, fraud and money laundering became an increasingly hot topic, leading us to the present – the 2025 Online Gaming Bill.
Favoured forms of gambling in India
Historically, gambling in India included dice, card games, lotteries and horse racing. In different states, variations of these games are still played, and the popularity of different game types is closely related to their legal status in any given state.
In modern times, one of the most popular forms of gambling is betting on cricket. In terms of casino games, rummy, poker and online fantasy sports have emerged as preferences for Indian players.
Interestingly, games of skill are especially big in India, partly because of the constitutional protection they have received. Until now.
Recent scandals and conflicts
Between the rapid growth and problematic regulatory system, India has been struggling. Just two years ago, it introduced a flat 28% tax on all casino, horse racing and online gambling turnovers.
This massive rise in the taxation of gambling led several prominent operators to leave the Indian market. It also threatened thousands of jobs – initial estimates suggest around 2000 jobs will be lost – and took a chunk out of domestic tax revenues, drawing accusations of hasty regulation that appear to have been confirmed by these latest developments.
Worse before better…?
Prior to the introduction of the new bill, India’s gambling sector had been projected to surpass $9 billion by 2029. By derailing this progress and turning its back on the massive revenues this would bring in, India may well be shooting itself in the foot.
It’s tough to envision the ban actually stopping people from gambling. Illegal sites are easy to access and hard for even the wealthiest countries to control. It’s more likely that offshore operators will benefit, and India will simply lose out on the revenue stream, as well as the ability to oversee the sites that players are using – an ability that is essential to safeguarding gamblers.
In the modern world, it’s hard to frame prohibition as progressive. While regulators in Europe have been criticised for heavy-handed moves, India’s ban makes them look comparatively soft-touch.
Summary
It’s noble that the Indian government wants to protect its people from the damages caused by problem gambling, but India is far from being the only country with concerns about the effects of gambling on social wellbeing. However, it is so far the only one to introduce drastic measures such as a total ban on real money gambling. It remains to be seen how effective it will be. It also remains to be seen whether there will be a legal challenge to the government’s decision.
There's also the question of just how pragmatic a decision this is. Will these drastic measures solve the problem? As with other countries it's only a small proportion of gamblers who are struggling. Many millions were managing their gambling successfully, and a proportion of these people will seek other channels in the poorly protected (if at all) unlicensed and black markets. Opportunist operators outside India will have no issue welcoming Indian players into the fold.
The decision will likely improve ‘public health’, but also cost thousands of jobs and leave an almighty black hole of lost tax revenue. Some tech-savvy Indian players will now likely turn to illegal, unlicensed operators abroad instead.