Our Bureau
New Delhi
The new Online Gaming Bill, 2025, that was passed recently in the Parliament has shaken up several different startups. As per reports many have pulled the plug on real-money gaming apps as the bill is moving closer to becoming a law. As the proposed bill has been approved by both the houses of Parliament it will immediately affect the platforms that allow users to wager money on games.
The bill that was recently introduced bans all online games that involve any monetary transactions. This also involves gaming apps and platforms that ask the user to deposit any amount to secure a chance at any winnings. The bill targets popular real-money gaming services like fantasy sports or skill based money games. This is being done after the rise of major concerns of addiction, financial harm, and potential misuse for money laundering and terror financing.
There are numerous startups that have paused real-money gaming after the announcement of the approval of this bill. These startups include Dream11, Hike (Rush), Zupee, PokerBaazi, Probo, Mobile Premier League and Gameskraft.
Dream 11 issued an in an app notice in accordance with the recent developments of the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025. They have stated that they will be pausing any fantasy sport contest that runs on ‘pay to play’ scheme for the near future. However, the company has secured the users of their balance and stated that they can withdraw it whenever they want from the app.
“In view of the recent development pertaining to ‘The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025’, we are pausing all ‘Pay to Play’ Fantasy Sports contests on our platform. Your account balance is safe and available for you to withdraw from the Dream11 app,” the company said.
