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Government Ordered to Submit Detailed Response
The Supreme Court has consolidated multiple petitions challenging India’s first central legislation banning real-money online gaming. The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, which received Presidential assent on August 22, prohibits all online games played for stakes, including fantasy sports, poker, rummy, and e-sports.
The court directed Additional Solicitor General N. Venkataraman to ensure the Centre’s reply is served to all parties in advance, allowing petitioners to file rejoinders before the November 26 hearing. The cases were originally filed in the Delhi, Karnataka, and Madhya Pradesh High Courts before being transferred to the Supreme Court in September to avoid conflicting verdicts.
Industry Claims Business Shutdown Despite Unnotified Law
Senior Advocate C. Aryama Sundaram, representing Head Digital Works (parent company of A23), informed the court that the online gaming sector has been effectively shut down for over a month, despite the fact that rules under the Act have not yet been notified.
“Our businesses are shut for more than one month now and the law has not been notified. We request the court to hear the matter and give relief,” Sundaram submitted.
The petitions have been filed by major gaming companies including Head Digital Works, Clubboom 11 Sports and Entertainment Pvt. Ltd., and Bagheera Carrom (OPC) Pvt. Ltd., along with professional gamers whose livelihoods depend on online tournaments.
Constitutional Validity Questions at Center of Challenge
The primary argument advanced by petitioners centers on the Act’s failure to distinguish between games of skill and games of chance. The legislation treats both categories as prohibited activities, which petitioners argue violates Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution—the fundamental right to practice any profession or carry on lawful trade.
Multiple Supreme Court judgments have previously recognized games like rummy, poker, and carrom as predominantly skill-based and therefore outside the scope of state gambling prohibitions. The new federal law effectively overrides these precedents with a blanket nationwide ban on all online games played for stakes.
Professional Players Seek Intervention
During the hearing, counsel for a professional chess player requested to join the proceedings, explaining that online tournaments constitute the petitioner’s sole source of livelihood. The player had also been preparing to launch a gaming application before the legislation took effect.
Justice Pardiwala observed:
“India is a strange country. You are a player. You want to play. It’s your only source of income and therefore, you want to join the proceedings.”
The bench directed that this petition be tagged with the main batch of cases.
Separate Petition Targets Illegal Gambling Platforms
The court noted that a separate petition filed by the Centre for Accountability and Systemic Change (CASC) and Shourya Tiwari will also be heard on November 26. This petition seeks directions to prohibit online gambling and betting platforms allegedly operating under the guise of social and e-sports games.
The CASC petition requests blocking orders under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act and enforcement of the gaming law against unlicensed betting and money games. This case has been tagged with the main batch challenging the Act itself.
Industry Impact and Economic Implications
The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act criminalizes both offering and participating in online games played for stakes, making such offences cognizable and non-bailable. The legislation was introduced in Parliament on August 20, passed within two days through voice vote, and received Presidential assent on August 22.
Industry representatives argue the law threatens a sector that employs thousands and has attracted significant investment in recent years. Gaming platforms contend that India’s online gaming market has operated legally under court rulings recognizing the distinction between skill-based gaming and gambling.
The November 26 hearing is expected to be closely watched by gaming companies, technology investors, state regulators, and professional players as it will determine the future regulatory framework for India’s online gaming industry.
Source: Supreme Court of India
