Businesses shut down because of law, online gaming companies tell Supreme Court

Online gaming companies on Friday (September 26, 2025) told the Supreme Court of India that their “businesses are shut down” owing to the new law which bans real money games, related banking services and advertisements. They sought urgent hearing and interim relief from the implementation of the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025.

Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai agreed to list the case soon. The court re-opens after Dussehra break on October 6.

The government has argued that the law was necessary to curb the rapid mushrooming of online money games creating “serious risks for individuals, families and the nation.”

While acknowledging the many benefits of digital technology, the government has maintained that online money games have also exploited loopholes in the law and caused deep social harm.

Speaking in the Rajya Sabha, Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw said an estimated 45 crore people were negatively affected by online money games and faced a loss of more than ₹20,000 crore playing them.

On September 8, 2025, a Supreme Court Bench headed by Justice J.B. Pardiwala had transferred to the apex court separate petitions challenging the law, pending scattered across various State High Courts, including Delhi, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh.

The counsel mentioning the case on behalf of the online gaming companies on Friday (September 26, 2025) said the transfer to the top court was done on a request from the Centre. “Now, we seek an urgent listing… Businesses are shut down because of the Act,” she said.

Cutting off online gaming with the scissors of prohibition

The Centre had got the petitions transferred on the ground that multiple proceedings before the various High Courts would add to the confusion, especially if the judgments contradict each other. An authoritative pronouncement from the Supreme Court on the constitutionality of the statute, on the other hand, would settle the law. The Centre had argued that the issue raised several questions of constitutional importance.

The writ petitions filed by online platforms and stakeholders in the High Courts have argued that the law was a violation of the right to equality and freedom of expression, federalism and the settled distinction drawn between games of skill and those of chance.

The government has argued that the legislature cannot be a mute spectator when online money gaming platforms raise serious concerns owing to reports of addiction, financial losses, money laundering, and even cases of loss of lives linked to heavy monetary losses. Many players lose their entire savings chasing the illusion of quick profits. Families have been pushed into debt and distress, the government has said in an official statement dealing with the reasons for enacting the law.

The Centre has argued that investigations have revealed that “some gaming platforms were being used for terror financing and illegal messaging, which compromise the country’s security.”

Besides, it stated that gambling and betting were already restricted under Indian laws such as the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and by various State legislations. The online domain had remained largely unregulated. The Bill ensured uniform standards apply in both physical and digital spaces.