The Online Gaming Act, 2025: Balancing Social Concerns with Legal Principles
UPSC Relevance
Prelims: Indian Polity and Governance (Parliamentary Legislations, Centre-State Relations - Seventh Schedule, Fundamental Rights - Art. 19); Current events of national importance; National Bodies (CERT-IN).
Mains:
General Studies Paper 2: Government policies and interventions; Separation of powers; Federal structure - issues and challenges.
General Studies Paper 3: Challenges to internal security through communication networks, role of media and social networking sites; Money-laundering and its prevention.
General Studies Paper 4 (Ethics): Ethical dimensions of new technologies and business models.
Key Highlights from the News
Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 passed by Parliament as law.
This law classifies online games into three categories: e-sports, social gaming, Real Money Games (RMGs).
The law completely prohibits RMGs (games played for money), but promotes e-sports and social gaming.
Reasons for Prohibition: To prevent financial fraud, money laundering, tax evasion, terrorist funding, and serious social evils like suicides.
Major Legal Challenges:
Disputes regarding the central government's legislative competence since "gambling" is a state subject in the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution (State List).
The law does not distinguish between game of skill and game of chance. This may be a violation of the fundamental right under Article 19(1)(g) (freedom of trade).
This law is inconsistent with previous Supreme Court judgments that classified Rummy and Fantasy Sports as games of skill.
The law stipulates strict penalties for companies violating the law; offenses are cognisable and non-bailable.
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