ABP EXCLUSIVE | Ashwini Vaishnaw Explains Why India Needed An Online Gaming Bill
Vaishnaw cautioned that the segment involving online money gaming poses serious harm.
Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has shed light on why the government decided to bring in the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, which has now been passed by both houses of the Parliament. Speaking in an interview with ABP News Political Editor Megha Prasad, the minister said that online gaming has become a massive digital sector in India, involving transactions worth thousands of crores daily. The government, he said, felt the urgent need to regulate the space while encouraging its positive aspects.
Vaishnaw explained that the industry is broadly divided into three segments: e-sports, online social gaming, and online money gaming. “Online gaming is emerging as a big sector in digital technology. Two of the three segments, e-sports and online social gaming, will be promoted through this Bill. The Bill itself is named Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming,” he noted.
Online Money Gaming Brings Social Harm
While emphasising the growth of the sector, the minister expressed concern over online money-based gaming.
“The segment of online money gaming is harmful,” he said. According to him, the intent behind the legislation is to tap into India’s strong creative and technological talent pool to turn the country into a hub for game development. He added that games with educational, recreational, or relaxation value must be promoted, but money gaming has shown worrying consequences for society.
Addiction And Rising Cases Of Suicide
Highlighting the dangers, Vaishnaw pointed out how excessive online money gaming is leading to addiction, particularly among the youth. “Youth is getting addicted to it. The middle class loses all their earnings. One after another, incidents are coming up where a family member ends life by suicide. Recently, there was a case where an eight-year-old child committed suicide,” he said.
He further mentioned that lawmakers across states have been demanding strong action against such practices.
Even the Lok Sabha Speaker, Vaishnaw recalled, had expressed readiness to allow an 18-hour debate on the issue as it affects countless families. The minister stressed that the new Bill aims to put a stop to these tragic incidents and create a balanced environment where India can nurture its gaming ecosystem while protecting citizens from its darker side.
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