SC to hear consolidated challenges to India's real-money gaming ban on Oct 7

New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India is scheduled to hear petitions challenging the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, on October 7, following an urgent request from affected gaming companies amid claims that the new law has forced business shutdowns and operational halts. 

The challenges, initially filed in the high courts of Delhi, Karnataka, and Madhya Pradesh, were transferred to the Supreme Court on September 8, 2025, by a bench led by Justice J.B. Pardiwala, granting the Centre's plea to centralise proceedings. 

Petitioners, including companies like Head Digital Works (operator of A23 Rummy) and Clubboom11 Sports & Entertainment (behind the Boom11 fantasy platform), contend that the Act violates constitutional rights, including equality under Article 14, freedom of expression under Article 19(1)(a), and the right to trade or business under Article 19(1)(g). 

They argue the law fails to distinguish between games of skill, such as e-sports and fantasy sports, and games of chance, infringing on federalism and imposing an unconstitutional blanket ban.

Enacted by Parliament on August 21, 2025, and receiving presidential assent the following day, the legislation prohibits "online money games" where users deposit funds, directly or indirectly, with the expectation of winnings. 

It also bars related services, including banking support and advertisements for such games, aiming to curb what the government describes as severe societal harms. The Centre has defended the law as essential to address addiction, financial distress, money laundering, and national security risks, citing estimates of 45 crore affected individuals and losses exceeding Rs 20,000 crore.

Officials argue that online platforms have exploited legal loopholes, with some even linked to terror financing and illegal activities, necessitating uniform regulation aligned with existing gambling prohibitions under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and state laws.

During a September 26 hearing before Chief Justice B.R. Gavai, gaming firms highlighted the Act's immediate impact, stating that businesses have shut down and urgent interim relief is needed. The CJI agreed to list the matter post the Dussehra break, with the court reconvening on October 6, paving the way for the October 7 session. Represented by senior advocates like C. Aryaman Sundaram and Arvind P. Datar, the petitioners seek to overturn the prohibitions, emphasising prior judicial recognitions of skill-based games as legitimate.

Not all industry players are contesting the law; major firms such as Dream Sports (Dream11), Gameskraft, Mobile Premier League (MPL), Zupee, and Pokerbaazi have suspended real-money operations, shifting to free-to-play models and implementing workforce reductions. This comes against a backdrop of ongoing Supreme Court deliberations on related issues, including GST notices worth Rs 2.5 lakh crore issued to gaming firms and state-level bans in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.