Nearly all of India’s online poker rooms have gone dark overnight, shutting down their services in response to the government’s sweeping ban on real-money gaming.
Earlier this week, the Indian Parliament introduced the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, a bill that significantly disrupts the country’s fast-growing real-money gaming industry.
The ban extends across online poker, rummy, fantasy sports, and other skill-based games played for real money that had been operating legally until now.
The bill has been passed by both houses and has received the President’s assent, but the law will only come into force once the government issues a notification, the timing of which remains unclear.
Though it has yet to become law, its consequences are already playing out. Virtually every major Indian online poker room has pulled the plug on real-money games. PokerBaazi, PokerStars India, Junglee Poker, Adda52, Natural8, Spartan Poker, and MPL Poker — all have been among the first to go dark.
For India, this moment is its own version of “Black Friday,” carrying an unsettling sense of déjà vu. Back in April 2011, the Department of Justice (DOJ) shut down PokerStars, Full Tilt, and Absolute Poker, instantly cutting off Americans from the global online poker market. The echoes are uncanny: one day the games were running as usual, the next day everything was gone.
In India’s case, industry executives warn that the fallout could be even wider — not only ending access to real-money games but also destabilizing an ecosystem that had attracted billions in foreign investment and generated tens of thousands of jobs.
Reports suggest nearly 400 startups could be forced to shut down, putting at risk more than 200,000 jobs. The government itself stands to lose close to ₹20,000 crore in annual tax revenue.
The speed and manner of the bill’s passing raised eyebrows, too. Little to no debate, voice votes, and back-to-back approval in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, all in a session’s blink, have drawn criticism from many stakeholders, who called it a “knee-jerk reaction” and urged proper parliamentary scrutiny.
For years, India’s stance on online gaming was fragmented, with regulation largely left to individual states. The Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that skill-based games cannot be classified as gambling, yet many states have introduced restrictive laws to curb their reach. Now, with the central government stepping in, those distinctions may no longer matter.
Legal Challenge Ahead
Still, the new law is very likely to be challenged in courts, something the minister who tabled it is already aware of. Local reports indicate that several Indian gaming groups are holding discussions with lawyers about approaching the Supreme Court. They are expected to argue on the grounds of lack of consultation, the devastating impact on a flourishing industry, and the fact that some banned games, like poker, are skill-based and should not be grouped with gambling.
Technology and gaming lawyer Jay Sayta did not mince words when speaking to Poker Industry PRO.
“The Bill is extremely problematic, prima facie unconstitutional and not sustainable in law,” Sayta told PRO. “‘Betting and gambling’ as well as ‘amusements and entertainments’ are squarely state subjects. Parliament has no legislative competence to enact laws on these matters, except under Article 252 of the Constitution, where two or more state legislatures expressly pass a resolution allowing it.”
This is not the first time such a ban has been attempted. A few years ago, the Southern state of Tamil Nadu amended its Gaming Act to prohibit online gambling, making it punishable by imprisonment and fines. The move was challenged in the High Court, which struck it down as unconstitutional. The bench held that such a sweeping ban was “excessive and disproportionate to the object sought to be achieved.” Operators soon resumed serving players in Tamil Nadu.
Whether history will repeat itself remains uncertain. This time, the law covers the entire nation, and even if it is stayed by the courts, the damage to the industry’s sentiment is already evident. Stock prices of some of India’s largest gaming companies have tumbled. Nazara Technologies, which last year acquired a 47.7% stake in PokerBaazi for ₹982 Crore ($117 million), saw its stock crash by nearly 10% following the announcement.
Interestingly, the bill also makes a nod toward promoting esports in the country, a move that contrasts sharply with its crackdown on real-money gaming. For now, though, the future of poker, rummy, fantasy sports, and other skill-based online games in India hangs in limbo.
