Govt justifies Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act
POLITY – BILL/ACT
27 NOVEMBER 2025
- Online money gaming entities have no right to trade or profession at the cost of human lives, as money sourced through these activities are laundered or used as funding for terror besides being a reason for increasing addiction and fatalities among young users, the Centre has told the Supreme Court
- The government was justifying the introduction of the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 to curb the rapid spread of online money games, creating “serious risks for individuals, families and the nation”.
- The government, in an affidavit, argued that an estimated 45 crore people had been negatively affected by online money games and faced a loss of more than ₹2,000 crore.
- “There can be no right to profession or trade at the cost of human lives, which online money gaming is known to take, month after month, across the country,” the Centre submitted.
- Right to trade and profession is a fundamental freedom under Article 19 of the Constitution.
- The government said “systemic legal violations” linked to online money gaming (OMG) platforms include large-scale tax evasion, money laundering, cross border illicit fund flows and “vulnerabilities” relating to potential terror financing and other economic offences.
- It said “money mule accounts” had been identified by banks in which customer identities were found linked to OMG websites.
- “Interactions with unknown players further expose users to intruders, predators, spyware, viruses and worms,” it said.
