Supreme Court to hear challenge to online money-gaming ban in January

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has fixed January 2026 for a detailed hearing on multiple petitions challenging the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 (PROGA), leaving the sweeping ban on real-money online gaming in force and the industry in limbo for now.

The matter will be heard by a three-judge Bench after the court on Thursday briefly took up the batch of cases, which have been consolidated from the Delhi, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh High Courts for a uniform ruling on the law’s constitutional validity.

At the heart of the challenge is whether Parliament had the legislative competence to push through a nationwide ban on real-money online games. Petitioners argue that by treating all stake-based games as “betting and gambling”, PROGA enters a field reserved for states under Entry 34 of the State List, and therefore violates India’s federal scheme. They also say the blanket prohibition ignores long-standing jurisprudence that protects games of skill such as rummy and fantasy formats under Article 19(1)(g), which guarantees the right to carry on a trade or business.

Industry associations and leading platforms, represented by senior advocates including C.A. Sundaram and Arvind Datar, sought interim relief to suspend implementation of the Act, flagging immediate fallout in the form of layoffs, stalled investments and platform shutdowns in a sector estimated at over Rs 20,000 crore. They warned that continued uncertainty could push real-money gaming offshore or underground.

The Centre, through Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, strongly defended PROGA as a public welfare measure aimed at curbing serious harms linked to online money gaming. Citing instances of addiction, suicides among young users, money laundering, terror financing and tax evasion, the government has maintained that there can be no fundamental right to profit from activities that endanger lives. Official data placed outward remittances via such platforms at over Rs 5,700 crore in 2023-24, with tax-related leakages running into thousands of crores.

Notified earlier this year, PROGA prohibits the offering, facilitation or advertising of any online game played for monetary stakes or convertible virtual items, regardless of whether it is a game of skill or chance. It gives authorities powers to block services, seize digital assets and impose stringent penalties, including jail terms of up to 10 years and fines up to Rs 1 crore. While the Act separately speaks of promoting non-stake e-sports and other online games, petitioners say its core provisions amount to a near-complete shutdown of the real-money segment.

With no interim stay granted, real-money gaming companies will have to continue operating under the shadow of PROGA’s prohibitions until the Supreme Court takes a final view next year, even as policymakers, investors and tech platforms track the outcome for its wider impact on India’s digital entertainment economy.