IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw Said to Have Met Real Money Gaming Firms to Discuss Transition After Ban

Government officials, including Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw, reportedly held discussions with firms impacted by the Online Gaming Bill, 2025, on Monday. The IT minister is said to have met representatives and industry stakeholders to talk about the implications of the bill, which recently received parliamentary approval, and stress upon “orderly transition” for firms that offered real money games, which were banned under the new rules.

Government Officials Meet Real Money Gaming Firms

According to a Moneycontrol report, citing government sources, the discussions between Vaishnaw and industry representatives focussed on the promotion of online and social games and esports, which remain outside the ambit of the new gaming regulations. The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, which was passed by the parliament in August, only seeks to ban real money games, many of which have operated in India in a legally grey area claiming to be skill-based games.

Betting and gambling are prohibited in most regions across India and game developers and publishers in the country have long sought distinction from real money games.

In the meeting with firms that operated real money games until the ban, government officials reportedly highlighted the importance of an “orderly transition” for impacted companies and called for measures to safeguard users' money. Many such real money gaming platforms, including Dream11, MPL, and Zupee, have wound down operations in the aftermath of the ban.

Impacted companies reportedly informed government officials that they were shutting down real money gaming operations and working with payment intermediaries to ensure compliance with the new laws.

Not all firms, however, are quite onboard with the ban on real money gaming. According to a Reuters report published last week, A23, a company that operates online rummy and poker games, has challenged the new rules in the High Court of Karnataka. In its court filing, the firm called the new gaming regulations a “product of state paternalism” and said it “criminalises the legitimate business of playing online games of skill, which would result in the closure of various gaming companies overnight”.

Last week, a selection of game developers and publishers also announced an industry body to present a unified voice for policy in the Indian games industry. The Indian Game Publishers and Developers Association (IGPDA) includes studios like SuperGaming, Reliance Games, Dot9 Games, among others.

The upper house of the Parliament gave its nod to the Online Gaming Bill, 2025, on August 21, a day after the bill was passed in the Lok Sabha. The bill seeks to ban all forms of real money games while promoting eSports and online gaming. It also prohibits advertisements related to real money games and platforms and bars banks and financial institutions from facilitating or transferring funds for the purpose of real money games.