The Supreme Court on Monday allowed transfer petitions filed by the Union Government, seeking consolidation of multiple challenges to the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025. Three writ petitions pending before the Delhi, Karnataka, and Madhya Pradesh High Courts, filed by online skill-gaming companies, will now be heard together by the apex court. The act seeks to prohibit ‘online money games’ and related services such as banking support and advertisements.
A bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice KV Viswanathan directed that not only these three petitions but any similar petitions pending before other High Courts also stand transferred to the Supreme Court. “The proceedings from Karnataka, Delhi and Madhya Pradesh High Courts stand transferred to this Court. Respective High Courts are directed to transfer entire records with all interlocutory applications filed within one week. Let this transfer be done digitally to save time,” the bench ordered.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appeared for the Union Government, while senior advocates C Aryaman Sundaram and Arvind P Datar represented petitioners challenging the Act before the High Courts.
The Online Gaming Act, 2025, passed by the parliament on August 21 and receiving presidential assent the next day—has faced legal scrutiny across multiple jurisdictions. The principal contention is that the law imposes a blanket ban even on games of skill, including e-sports, which courts have previously recognised as distinct from games of chance. Petitioners argue that such restrictions infringe upon the constitutional right to carry on trade or business under Article 19(1)(g).
Meanwhile, in a related proceeding, the Karnataka High Court on Monday issued a notice in another petition questioning the validity of the Act, where an interim stay has also been sought.
