Rajat Sharma, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of India TV.
The law to ban Online Money Games has passed in the country. All those games will be banned in online games which have money transactions in any way. This is a big decision. This will mean that online betting in the name of games will be completely illegal. No money will be invested in online games, no one will earn, no money will lose, nor will anyone win money.
All the platforms in the online games in which people used to invest money will be closed. This will cause loss of tax revenue of about twenty thousand crores to the government. According to the FICCI report, in 2029, these Gaming Companies would have reached the government’s income of Rs 78 thousand 500 crore. To understand how big the online gaming game is, I give the example of Fantasy Cricket’s company Dream-11. In this, money is given to form a team. Valuation of this company has reached 70 thousand crore rupees. The brand Ambassadors of Dream-11 are star players like Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Rishabh Pant and Jaspreet Bumrah.
More than 150 million people in India play Real Money Games. These include sports like Fantasy Sports, Rummy, Poker. On average, 11 million people play everyday. After the law is enacted, online real money games of companies like Dream XI, Mobile Premier League, My11Circle, Winzo, SG-11 fantasy, wild games and games will be closed. The government has given exemption from e-sports and skill based games. E-Sports Authority will be formed to encourage them. This will promote Strategic Thinking, Mental Agility and Physical Dexterity.
Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said that the worst effect of online money games is on the poor and middle class. Online money games are being addicted to earning money quickly. Psychological disorders are being born, the tendency to commit suicide is increasing. The World Health Organization has described it as a gaming disorder. Therefore, online games which have money transactions, the government has decided to close all those online games.
After this law is made, if someone feeds an online money game, he will be imprisoned for up to three years and will have to pay a fine of up to one crore rupees. Promotion of online money games will also be banned. If someone promotes such games, then the promoter and providing the platform to this promotion will have to be imprisoned for up to two years and a fine of up to fifty lakhs. Those who will be found playing online money games have been considered victims of the law, so there is no provision for any kind of punishment or fine against them.
It is true that Online Gaming’s market is very big. It is also true that there will be a loss of 20 thousand crores from banning online money games. It is also true that thousands of people will become unemployed, but in spite of all this, the government took a respect to banning online money games, because the loss to the youth of the country with these games is far bigger than the loss of thousands of crores, far more dangerous.
These games encourage our youth to commit suicide. These games make the youth mentally ill. The games that transact money, they ruin the lives of the people. Examples of this are spread around us. A man is shown to show money by winning the money to loot the money.
If the government sacrifices an income of 20 thousand crore rupees to protect the youth of the country from mental illnesses, then it should be praised. This decision of Ashwini Vaishnav is historical. There is a decision to save the future of the youth of the country. This is a decision to save the poor man’s hard -earned money. This law will also show other countries of the world to avoid the havoc of Online Gaming. (Rajat Sharma)
See: ‘Today’s talk with Rajat Sharma’ full episode of August 21, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=to- knfuogh8
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