New Delhi, Aug. 20 -- The online gaming industry is up in arms over the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025 that aims to ban all real-money games, including skill-based ones. Industry insiders warn that this sweeping ban could cripple the sector, leading to over 20,000 job cuts and forcing more than 300 companies to close their doors.

The move, they say, puts the future of one of the country's most dynamic digital industries at serious risk. The 14-page bill drafted by the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) is set to be tabled in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, 20 August, by Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw.

It describes "online money game as an online game ir...