India cracks down on real-money gaming: Impact of Online Gaming Bill on cricket and other sports

The Government of India took a major step towards banning online games played with money with the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025 , being passed in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. The legislation seeks to prohibit real-money online gaming citing psychological and national security concerns in the form of addiction, money laundering and financial fraud.

The Bill, introduced by Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw, also aims to impose stricter penalties on platforms that promote such games as well as on their celebrity promoters.

Not only does the bill seek to prohibit advertisements related to online money games, it will also ensure banks and other financial institutions do not facilitate the transfer of funds for such games. And once the legislation passes both houses of the parliament, online money gaming will be punishable by imprisonment of up to three years and/or a fine of up to Rs 1 crore.

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The government, instead, hopes to instead encourage people towards e-sports and online social games, with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports likely to setup a dedicated framework.

Reflecting the Government’s commitment to a safe, secure, and innovation-driven Digital India, the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025 strikes a balanced path—encouraging innovation and youth engagement through safe and positive online gaming, while firmly… pic.twitter.com/dhM4LaR2mC

— Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (@MIB_India) August 20, 2025

How the Online Gaming Bill, 2025, is likely to affect cricket and other sports

The bill, which was passed in the lower house of the parliament on Wednesday, could have an adverse affect when it comes to sponsorship in cricket and other sports. ‘Real money gaming platforms’, after all, have significant stakes when it comes to sponsorship in the Indian sporting landscape, with cricket being a prime beneficiary.

The multi-billion dollar fantasy gaming industry, after all, could see a nosedive in their revenue in the future which in turn will certainly affect their sponsorship.

As far as cricket is concerned, Dream11 is the Indian team’s title sponsor while My11Circle is the official fantasy sports partner of the cash-rich Indian Premier League.

Dream11 had bought the title rights for the India men’s and women’s cricket teams for a sum of Rs 358 crore in July 2023, with their deal set to last until March next year. My11Circle, on the other hand, had bought the IPL fantasy gaming rights for a sum of Rs 625 crore for a period of five years.

In addition to the BCCI, several active as well as former cricketers have signed endorsement deals with such platforms, which will certainly get affected by the Online Gaming Bill.

Dream11 has signed the likes of MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Shreyas Iyer, and Jasprit Bumrah while Sourav Ganguly, Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Rinku Singh, and Yashasvi Jaiswal have endorsement deals with My11Circle.

Additionally, Mobile Premier League (MPL) was the official kit sponsor and merchandise partner for the Indian team from November 2020 to December 2023, replacing Nike and later making way for Adidas.

“Cricket is huge in India and there won’t be any dearth of sponsors for Indian cricket and its properties. However, personal sponsorship market can shrink because of this bill,” noted sports lawyer Vidushpat Singhania told news agency Press Trust of India.

“Also fan engagement will be affected,” he added.

And it’s not just cricket that will be affected – these platforms also have made their presence felt in kabaddi and football, with Dream11 allowing its users to create fantasy teams for the Pro Kabaddi League.

Several clubs in the Indian Super League, India’s top-tier football competition, had fantasy gaming platforms as their sponsors – the number reportedly standing at seven out of 11 teams in 2020. DafaNews and PariMatch News were among the betting platforms which had invested in ISL clubs under the guise of ’news’ websites.

Given the huge disparity between cricket and other sports in India when it comes to revenue and salaries, the Online Gaming Bill is expected to have a much bigger financial impact on football, kabaddi and other non-cricket sporting disciplines.