Rajya Sabha passes Online Gaming Bill 2025

The Rajya Sabha on Thursday cleared the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, cementing the Centre’s sweeping ban on real-money online games, a day after it was passed in the Lok Sabha.

Presenting the bill in Lok Sabha yesterday, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw called online money gaming “a bigger issue than drugs,” citing 45 crore Indians exposed and an estimated Rs 20,000 crore in annual losses for middle-income families. 

He also flagged addiction, financial ruin, money laundering, and even links to terrorism as key concerns,…