Karnataka IT Minister Priyank Kharge criticised Central government's decision to impose a blanket ban on real money gaming under new Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill. Calling it a "knee-jerk reaction" that could hurt India's digital economy, he warned it risks over two lakh jobs, over 2,000 gaming startups, ₹23,000 crore in FDI, and the country's gaming talent pool.