New Delhi: The proposed Online Gaming Bill will not penalise players or victims of online money games, according to sources cited by ANI. Instead, the legislation targets service providers, advertisers, promoters, and anyone who financially supports such games.

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.

"No punishment for those playing online games. No punishment to victims. Only punishment for service providers, advertisers, promoters and who support financially to such games," a source told ANI.

Through this legislation, the government aims to promote e-sports and give them legal recognition. This bill will help provide legal support to e-sports. Earlier, there was no legal backing for e-sports, sources said.

"We have interacted with the 3rd segment of the online gaming industry. We tried to impose GST also, but the challenge continued. We had no option but to choose society for the welfare of people," a source added.

Meanwhile, 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”.