The Rajya Sabha on Thursday passed the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill through a voice vote, despite strong protests from the Opposition.
Deputy Chairman Harivansh declared the bill’s approval before briefly adjourning the House. The Lok Sabha had cleared the legislation a day earlier.
Piloted by IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, the bill seeks to ban all forms of online money games, while promoting eSports and social gaming. It also prohibits advertisements for money-based online games and directs banks and financial institutions not to process or transfer funds related to such activities.
Amendments proposed by Opposition members were rejected before the bill was passed.
