Supreme Court to hear pleas against online gaming law on November 4

The Supreme Court will hear on November 4 a batch of petitions challenging the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, which bans real-money online games. The petitions, transferred from three high courts, question the law’s constitutional validity

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday said that it will hear on November 4 a batch of transferred petitions challenging an online gaming law which prohibits “online money games” and bars banking services and advertising related to them.

A bench comprising justices J B Pardiwala and K V Viswanathan said this after the issue was mentioned by senior advocates C Aryaman Sundaram and Arvind P Datar, who appeared for petitioners before the High Courts.

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Sundaram submitted that the matters were earlier directed to be mentioned before the Chief Justice, adding that the CJI indicated it would be appropriate for the same bench to clarify the hearing schedule.

He said the issue was mentioned before a bench headed by Chief Justice B R Gavai, and the bench said that it would be in the fitness of things that the same bench (led by Justice Pardiwala) hears the case on November 4 as scheduled.

“Then we will hear it,” Justice Pardiwala said. The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, is the first central legislation banning real-money online gaming, including fantasy sports and e-sports played for stakes, and has faced challenges before the Delhi, Karnataka, and Madhya Pradesh high courts.

The petitioners argue that the Act imposes a blanket ban even on judicially recognised skill-based games, violating Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to practice any profession or carry on lawful trade.

The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday also issued notice in another related petition. On September 8, the top court had allowed a plea by the Centre to transfer the petitions challenging the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, from three high courts to the apex court to avoid conflicting verdicts.

It transferred the petitions pending before the Delhi, Karnataka, and Madhya Pradesh High Courts to the apex court. The court had directed the respective high courts to transfer the entire records with all interlocutory applications filed within one week.

“Let this transfer be done digitally to save time,” the bench said, after hearing Solicitor General Tushar Mehta for the Union government and senior advocates C A Sundaram and Arvind Datar for the petitioners.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) filed the plea for the transfer of three pending cases from the high courts to the apex court. “Due to multiple litigations pending before various high courts involving the same or substantially similar questions of law and challenging the vires of the same impugned Act, the same must be transferred to this court or any high court to avoid any divergence of opinions or multiplicity of proceedings,” the plea said.

It said that after the law got the President’s assent, multiple petitions were filed in the high courts challenging the validity of the Act. The petition titled as Head Digital Works Private Limited & Anr Vs Union of India was pending before the Karnataka High Court at Bengaluru, writ petition titled as Bagheera Carrom (OPC) Pvt Ltd Vs Union of India was pending before the Delhi HC and a similar plea titled as Clubboom 11 Sports & Entertainment Private Limited Vs Union of India was pending before the High Court of Madhya Pradesh.

The law prohibited offering or playing online money games, regardless of whether they are games of skill or chance, and categorised violations as cognisable and non-bailable offences. The bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on August 20.

It was passed within two days by voice vote in both Houses of Parliament and received presidential assent on August 22.