In a recent session on November 4, 2025, the Supreme Court of India orally suggested that organized online competitions and tournaments may not fall under the purview of the newly enacted Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025. The court’s stance is based on the premise that these activities do not align with the definitions of ‘betting and gambling’ as outlined in the law.
The 2025 legislation currently imposes a ban on real money games, along with associated banking services and advertising. This has significantly impacted the burgeoning online gaming sector.
The discussion arose during the hearing of a unique plea from an online chess player who described the game as his primary source of income and expressed plans to launch his own gaming application. Justice J.B. Pardiwala questioned the counsel, inquiring, “India is a strange country… you say you are a player, that you want to play, it is your only source of income and you want to join these proceedings here… Are you betting or gambling? How do you raise an income?”
The player’s counsel clarified that his client participates in online ‘tournaments’. To this, Justice Pardiwala responded, “Then there is no problem for you [from the Act]. They [the government] does not object to tournaments… Tournaments are completely excluded… So why come here? Now, really, tell us, are you playing in tournaments or not?”
While the Additional Solicitor General, N. Venkataraman, representing the Union Government, countered that the petitioner ‘does not play tournaments’, the counsel for the player insisted that his client was not involved in betting or gambling. He explained that these were legitimate online tournaments organized by companies, where participants pay an entry fee and compete for prizes.
Following this exchange, Justice Pardiwala agreed to combine this individual’s petition with a larger batch of cases filed by various online platforms, all challenging the legality of the new law. The Supreme Court has scheduled a comprehensive hearing for these cases on November 26. Senior advocates C.A. Sundaram and Rohini Musa, representing the online platforms, highlighted the urgency of the matter, stating, “We have been shut down for a month,” and reporting significant layoffs due to the law’s impact.
The companies are urgently seeking an interim stay on the implementation of the 2025 Act, arguing that it has effectively halted their operations. The Bench has directed the government to submit a detailed counter-affidavit in response to these petitions.
The government, on its part, has defended the law as essential to control the rapid proliferation of online money games. It claims these games pose “serious risks for individuals, families, and the nation,” exploiting legal loopholes and causing widespread social harm. The Centre asserts that an estimated 45 crore people have been negatively affected, incurring losses exceeding ₹20,000 crore due to these games.
Earlier, on September 8, the Supreme Court had consolidated various petitions challenging the law from different High Courts across states like Delhi, Karnataka, and Madhya Pradesh, bringing them under its own jurisdiction. The online platforms and stakeholders had argued in their writ petitions that the new law infringes upon the right to equality and freedom of expression, disrupts federal principles, and disregards the established distinction between games of skill and games of chance.
The government maintains that the legislature cannot remain passive when online money gaming platforms raise critical concerns related to addiction, financial ruin, money laundering, and even fatalities stemming from substantial monetary losses. Furthermore, it highlighted that traditional gambling and betting are already regulated under existing Indian laws, such as the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and various state-specific legislations, whereas the online gaming sector had largely remained unregulated until now.