MUMBAI: India just hit “start” on a new sporting era. On 21 August, Parliament passed the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, a landmark move that bans all online money games but officially elevates esports to the league of legitimate competitive sport. For the first time, esports has been uncoupled from gambling, betting, and fantasy money play, and placed firmly under the ministry of youth affairs and sports, which will set tournament standards, support academies, and weave esports into India’s sporting fabric.
The timing was pixel-perfect. Days earlier, 19-year-old Ved Bamb, better known by his gamer tag Beelzeboy, became India’s first esports World Champion by defeating Spain’s Leo Marin at the Pokémon Go Worlds. Esports has been steadily climbing the podium: officially recognised by India in 2022, it debuted as a medal sport at the Asian Games in Hangzhou and snagged a historic bronze in DOTA 2 at the 2022 Commonwealth Esports Championships. Next year, it returns to the Asian Games medal tally and will also feature at the 3rd Asian Youth Games in October.
Back home, esports is levelling up from grassroots to glory. This year’s Khelo India Youth Games in Bihar featured esports as a demo sport, with states like Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Nagaland, and Bihar championing tournaments. Nationally, the Waves Esports Championships, backed by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, signalled that esports is no longer niche, but mainstream. Nodwin Gaming’s flagship Battlegrounds Mobile India Masters Series (BGMS), with a Rs 1.5 crore prize pool in its fourth season and female athletes competing for the first time, shows the professional rigour that mirrors cricket or football.
“The Bill unlocks a zero-to-hero pipeline from state-level championships to global majors,” said Nodwin Gaming cxo-founder & MD Akshat Rathee which is grooming players for EVO, Esports Nations Cup, and even Counter-Strike Majors. S8ul, India’s most celebrated esports org, has its athletes training in Navi Mumbai bootcamps and recently competed at the Esports World Cup in Riyadh, where the prize pool crossed Rs 600 crore. Nodwin Gaming co-founder Animesh Agarwal called the government’s clarity a “game-changer” that will win parents’ trust and bring more young talent into the fold.
The ecosystem’s growth isn’t just about skill but also kit. With PC and console titles set to feature in the 2026 Asian Games and possibly the Olympic Esports Games in 2027, high-performance gear is becoming non-negotiable. Cyberpowerpc India COO Vishal Parekh noted: “If cricket needs pitches, esports needs world-class rigs.” His company has donated PCs worth lakhs to bridge the infrastructure gap and prepare India’s next champions.
As India marks National Sports Day, esports now stands shoulder to shoulder with traditional sports. With structured training, global tournaments, and government backing, the nation’s gamers are no longer just chasing high scores, they’re chasing history.
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