Amol Kulkarni, the Research Director for CUTS International, gave a startling example of the social costs associated with Real Money Gaming (RMG) platforms, where he spoke of a 12-year-old kid who used his father’s money to play an online money game.
“When it came out that the money has been lost, he thought that there was no other option but to take the extreme step of taking his own life,” he said. For context, Kulkarni was speaking at MediaNama’s discussion on the Online Gaming Act, namely ‘Navigating India’s Online Gaming Law’.
Kulkarni stated that there were a number of direct and indirect social costs arising from the use of RMG platforms, both because gamers were investing a lot of money, and because it was an unproductive use of their time. He suggested that the government might be attempting to shift these users towards esports and online social games, which are not banned.
“Are we certain that these social costs would be reduced by prohibition?” he asked. “We have seen social costs with liquor as well, and so states have banned alcohol. However, there are still a lot of problems that continue to happen, ” he added.
Some Context Around The Online Gaming Act:
The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, was passed last month, prohibiting offering or facilitating digital money gaming services, banning related advertisements, and preventing banks and payment processors from handling such transactions.
The Act mandates imprisonment for up to three years or a fine of up to Rs. 1 crore (or both) for facilitating or providing online money gaming. Advertising can lead up to two years in prison or fines up to Rs 50 lakh (or both). Meanwhile, financial facilitation can lead to three years in jail or a fine up to Rs 1 crore (or both).
The passing of the Act led to an almost immediate discontinuation for a number of RMG operations. Fantasy gaming platform Dream11 stopped offering Pay-to-Play matches and is reportedly pivoting to a personal finance app. Fellow gaming operator Winzo announced a foray into the US market alongside an entry into short-form video content. Elsewhere, some players, like the opinion trading app Probo, had to completely shut down.
And even though many RMG platforms chose to pivot, some have opted to challenge the law in courts. For instance, three companies have filed cases against the legislation, namely Bagheera Carrom, Clubboom 11 Sports and Head Digital Works. And more recently, the Supreme Court (SC) transferred all pending petitions relating to the Online Gaming Act to itself.
What’s the Difference Between Online Gaming and Offline Gaming?
Vishal Gondal, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of game developer GOQii, argued that RMG platforms involved gambling and not gaming.
“When you and I are playing a face-to-face game of cards, we know that the cards are truly random. We can check the cards ourselves. But the minute a game is taken…
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