MC EXCLUSIVE Venture capitalists knew online money gaming was risky, says Ashwini Vaishnaw

Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw

Venture capital investors were aware that real-money gaming carried inherent risks, said Minister for Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) Ashwini Vaishnaw, adding that India was not alone in grappling with the social challenges posed by such platforms.

"Most VCs knew that this was an area with issues," Vaishnaw said in an exclusive interview to Moneycontrol on the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill 2025 on August 21.

The comments came as the Bill, which puts a ban on all kinds of online money gaming, was passed in the Rajya Sabha on the same day and will soon become a law after it receives the President's assent.

VAishnaw said that the issue was not india specific while responding to a query on investor sentiment. "This is not just an India-specific problem. Everywhere in the world, people are facing these challenges and trying to grapple with them," he said.

PEs and VCs have invested around $ 2.5-3 billion in Indian real money gaming companies. Prominent investors include Tiger Global, Peak XV, Matrix Partners, Steadview, DST Global, Alpha Wave Global. The multi-billion dollar industry has 3 unicorns Dream11, MPL and Games24x7.

"When there is a large social issue affecting youngsters and middle-income families, the government has to choose people over industry," Vaishnaw added.

Apart from prohibiting offering of online money games, the Bill also puts restrictions on advertising of such games and financial transactions.

The law, however, carves out room for esports and online social games, which the government says it wants to actively promote.