SC allows Centre's transfer petition for Online Gaming Act cases

The Supreme Court will now decide on the validity of the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 as it today allowed the Centre's petition to transfer cases pending before the High Courts challenging the law.

A bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and KV Viswanathan allowed the transfer petition and ordered thus, “The transfer petition is allowed and the proceedings are transferred to this court. We make it clear that no other high court will entertain a challenge to the said law and proceedings will stand transferred to this court.”

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appearing before the Supreme Court on behalf of the Union government.

Last week, Centre's plea was mentioned before a CJI BR Gavai led bench which agreed to hear the same. Petitions have been filed before the High Courts of Madhya Pradesh, Delhi and Karnataka.

Just today, Karnataka High Court deferred the hearing writ petitions challenging the newly enacted Online Gaming Act, 2025, noting that the Centre has moved to consolidate similar challenges before the Supreme Court.

Head Digital Works, the parent company of A23, challenged the validity of the Act in the Karnataka High Court, arguing that it violated fundamental constitutional rights, including the freedom to conduct business under Article 19(1)(g), and infringed on the established legal distinction between games of skill and games of chance

Recently, the Union government told the Delhi High Court that it is in the process of notifying the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, and will also constitute a regulatory authority with supporting rules under the new law. Appearing for the Union, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told a bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela that the government was not opposed to online gaming as such but was only against money-based online games. He said such platforms often lead to addiction and in some cases even suicides among children.

The petition before the High Court was filed by Bagheera Carrom (OPC) Pvt. Ltd., which has developed an online carrom platform. The company has challenged the Act as unconstitutional, arbitrary and ultra vires. It argued through counsel Udayan Jain that the legislation was passed without any stakeholder consultation and infringes fundamental rights under Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution. It was also argued that the law violates federal principles, due process, and the doctrine of separation of powers.

The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on August 20, cleared by both Houses of Parliament within two days through a voice vote, and received Presidential assent on August 22.

Several past Supreme Court judgments had recognised games like rummy, poker and carrom as predominantly skill-based and therefore outside the scope of state gambling prohibitions. The petitioner has relied on this jurisprudence to argue that Parliament lacks competence to ban such games outright. The company has also said that the blanket ban is disproportionate and fails to consider less intrusive alternatives such as regulation and age restrictions.

The legislation, hailed as a forward looking digital policy measure, seeks to balance innovation in India’s gaming sector with strong consumer protection, by encouraging e-sports and social gaming while imposing a complete prohibition on exploitative online money games.

The legislation is built on two clear objectives: to promote and regulate the legitimate and beneficial aspects of online gaming, and to protect individuals, especially youth and vulnerable groups, from the harmful consequences of online money gaming. Moving the Bill, Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had called online money gaming a “public health menace”, pointing out that around 45 crore users collectively lose nearly Rs. 20,000 crore annually on such platforms.

The law is divided into six chapters, each addressing a different aspect of regulation, prohibition, and enforcement.