Shashi Tharoor calls for regulation and taxation instead of banning online gaming
New Delhi(PTI): Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday criticised the government’s move to ban online money gaming, warning that such a step would only push the industry underground and strengthen criminal networks.
He also said he had not studied the three Constitution amendment bills seeking to provide a framework for the removal of prime ministers, Union ministers, chief ministers and state ministers detained on serious criminal charges in any detail.
“On the face of it, it is difficult to say it has any problem, but obviously if anyone does something wrong they should not be a minister anyway. I don’t know if there is any other motive,” he remarked.
Discussing the bill seeking to prohibit and regulate online gaming introduced in the Lok Sabha, he said, "I had written a very long article on the argument that by banning online gaming we are simply driving it underground, whereas it could be a useful source of revenue for the government if we legalise it, regulate it and tax it."
He added that many countries have studied the issue in detail and concluded that regulation and taxation can generate funds for social causes, while bans merely enrich “criminal mafias”.
In a post on X, Tharoor recalled that he had “gone on record in 2018 urging the government to legalise, regulate and tax online gaming, rather than drive it underground by banning it, which will merely enhance the profits of the mafia”.
“It’s a pity that the government seems to have derived no lessons from the experience of other countries that have considered this issue,” he wrote.
He added that the bill should at least have been referred to a parliamentary committee “to consider all the pros and cons before rushing it into law”.
The proposed bill prohibits online money gaming and its advertisements, prescribing imprisonment or fines, or both, for violators. It differentiates such games from eSports and online social games, while calling for their promotion.
1/2 I went on record in 2018 urging the government to legalise, regulate and tax online gaming, rather than drive it underground by banning it, which will merely enhance the profits of the mafia. https://t.co/KYi2aTxDQQ
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) August 20, 2025
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MP: 12 labourers killed, 20 injured as pick-up van overturns and crashes into SUV
Dhar (MP) (PTI): Twelve labourers were killed and 20 others injured when the pick-up van carrying them overturned and collided with an SUV in Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday night, an official said.
The incident occurred at 8:30-9 PM. According to preliminary information, 35 labourers were returning home in a pickup van from Baggad in Dhar district when the driver lost control of the vehicle near Chikliya crossing. The vehicle overturned and collided with an SUV coming from the opposite direction.
"Twelve people died on the spot, while approximately 20 others were injured," said Dhar district's in-charge collector, Abhishek Choudhary.
The seriously injured persons were referred to Indore after initial treatment, he said.
Choudhary, DIG Mayank Awasthi, and police personnel rushed to the spot.
Tirla police have registered a case and are investigating the accident.
