A Bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice KV Viswanathan directed that the plea be clubbed with the batch of petitions already pending before the Court challenging the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025.
Supreme Court of India | File Photo
The Supreme Court has sought a response from the Central government on a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking a nationwide ban on online gambling and betting platforms that allegedly operate under the guise of e-sports and social gaming applications.
A Bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice KV Viswanathan directed that the plea be clubbed with the batch of petitions already pending before the Court challenging the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025.
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The government’s counsel informed the Bench that the issues raised in the PIL are substantially covered under the provisions of the new online gaming legislation, which is yet to be implemented.
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In its brief order, the Bench observed: “According to the petitioner, around two thousand apps are currently operating online in the domain of betting and gambling. The petitioner seeks immediate government intervention in the matter in the larger public interest, particularly in view of the adverse impact on the youth. Issue notice. Let an appropriate response be filed to the petition.”
The petition, filed by the Centre for Accountability and Systemic Change (CASC), urged the Court to direct the Union government to interpret the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 harmoniously with state laws to curb betting and gambling activities being presented as social or e-sports platforms.
Appearing for CASC, advocate Virag Gupta submitted that the plea aims to protect children and young users who are increasingly exposed to deceptive gaming platforms promoting monetary play. The petition emphasised the urgent need to restrain the unchecked proliferation of gambling and betting applications operating under misleading classifications.
The PIL further sought directions to the Ministries of Electronics and Information Technology, Information and Broadcasting, Finance, and Youth Affairs & Sports to ensure better coordination and enforcement between Central and state authorities to curb such illegal operations.
Highlighting the social risks, the plea described the widespread expansion of online gaming and gambling as a “national crisis,” which has led to financial losses, psychological harm, and addictive behaviour, affecting “nearly half of India’s population.”
It also requested the Court to direct the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), and UPI platforms to block monetary transactions linked to unregistered or unlawful gaming applications.
On September 8, the Supreme Court, on the Central government’s request, ordered the transfer of all petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 to itself from the Delhi, Karnataka, and Madhya Pradesh High Courts.
The government had sought the consolidation of similar challenges before various High Courts to avoid conflicting judgments. While allowing the transfer, the Court also directed that any similar challenge pending before other High Courts would stand transferred as well.
“This transfer petition is at the instance of the Union of India. The transfer, as prayed for, is allowed. The proceedings from the Karnataka High Court, Delhi High Court, and Madhya Pradesh High Court stand transferred to this Court. The respective High Courts are directed 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 in its September 8 order.
The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, which received Presidential assent on August 22 after being passed by Parliament a day earlier, imposes a blanket ban on “online money games.” It criminalises both offering and participating in such games—whether categorised as involving skill or chance—with offences being cognisable and non-bailable. The law also prohibits banks and service providers from extending facilities and bans advertising of such games.
Several online skill-gaming firms have moved various High Courts challenging the law, contending that games of skill fall within the constitutional right to trade and profession. The Centre argued that a multiplicity of proceedings would cause confusion and therefore sought consolidation before the Supreme Court.
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