The Supreme Court will soon hear petitions challenging the Online Gaming Regulation Act, 2025, after transferring all cases from Delhi, Karnataka, and Madhya Pradesh High Courts. Gaming firms argue the ban has shut down their businesses and violates fundamental rights.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday said that it will soon list the petitions filed against the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025. The statement followed lawyers representing gaming companies telling the court that their businesses had completely shut down due to the law.
During the short hearing, an advocate reminded the Bench that earlier, a bench led by Justice JB Pardiwala had already allowed the transfer of all petitions pending before different High Courts.
However, the case has not been listed since then.
The lawyer said,
“Our businesses are shut due to the Act.”
Responding to this, Chief Justice of India BR Gavai assured,
“We will list it.”
Previous Hearing
Earlier, the Supreme Court had allowed the Central government’s petition seeking transfer of all challenges to the new Act from various High Courts to the apex court itself.
The Centre had asked the Supreme Court to bring together all petitions pending before the Delhi, Karnataka, and Madhya Pradesh High Courts. Appearing for the Union government, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted,
“This is a challenge to the Act challenged before three High Courts. If they can be called here, it would save time.”
The transfer plea was not opposed by the gaming companies. Senior Advocate C Aryama Sundaram, representing the petitioners, welcomed the move and said,
“We will be very happy if we get a finality if the Court hears it. I had pressed for interim order, therefore my lords please transfer.”
After hearing both sides, the Bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and KV Viswanathan allowed the transfer plea and passed an order saying,
“This transfer petition is at the instance of Union of India. The transfer as prayed for is allowed. The proceedings from Karnataka High Court, Delhi High Court and Madhya Pradesh High Court stand transferred to this Court. The respective High Courts are requested to transfer the entire record within a period of one week from today. Let this transfer be done digitally to save time. The transfer petition is accordingly disposed of. Once entire records are transferred, the registry shall do the needful and list it before the Court at the earliest. If the parties intend to file the writ petition with the entire record. They may do so with the registry.”
The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 was notified on August 22. It is India’s first central law that completely bans online games played for money or stakes, whether based on chance or skill.
The law makes offering or playing such games a criminal offence. These offences are both cognisable and non-bailable.
The Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on August 20 and was passed within two days through a voice vote in both Houses of Parliament. It quickly received Presidential assent and came into force.
This new law marked a huge change because earlier, the regulation of online gaming was mostly handled by individual states and courts, which had often made distinctions between games of skill and games of chance.
Soon after the law was enforced, several companies approached different High Courts claiming that it violated their constitutional rights under Articles 14 and 19(1)(g). Online gaming platforms like Head Digital and others challenged the ban.
On September 3, the Madhya Pradesh High Court issued notice to the Union government on one such plea. Around the same time, the Karnataka High Court asked the Centre to respond to a case filed by Head Digital, and the Delhi High Court also heard a challenge from an online carrom platform.
The Centre then moved the Supreme Court to consolidate all these cases.
In its application, the government said that transferring all matters would avoid multiplicity of proceedings, ensure uniformity and certainty in judgments, address the constitutional importance of the issue, and lead to expeditious justice.
It also requested that the High Courts keep their proceedings on hold until the Supreme Court decided on the transfer petition.
With the transfer now allowed, all three High Courts have been directed to send their records digitally to the Supreme Court within one week. The case will then be listed before the apex court for hearing, where the validity of the new online gaming ban will be decided.
Click Here to Read Previous Reports on Online Gaming
