The Supreme Court has on Thursday (December 11, 2025) witnessed a brief but significant exchange on whether Parliament is “competent” to enact the Online Gaming Act, 2025, a law that has banned real money games, associated banking services and related advertisements.
The hearing has unfolded as per media reports, with the Chief Justice and senior lawyers debating whether online gaming qualifies as ‘betting and gambling’, a subject placed under Entry 34 of the State List, which grants legislative powers exclusively to States.
The court has heard that if online gaming is indeed classified as betting and gambling, only State legislatures have had the authority to regulate it. The Chief Justice has indicated that the petitions will come up before a three-judge Bench in January 2026 for a detailed hearing on whether Parliament has acted beyond its constitutional competence in passing the 2025 Act.
Senior advocates C.A. Sundaram, Arvind Datar and advocate Rohini Musa, appearing for online gaming platforms, have informed the court that a separate two-judge Bench led by Justice J.B. Pardiwala has also been examining challenges to the central law and similar State laws enacted by Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and others. They have urged for an early hearing and have sought interim relief in the form of a stay on the Act, saying people have lost jobs and are facing complete uncertainty.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, has requested the court to examine not just the question of legislative competence but also the intention behind the 2025 law.
The Centre has argued that online real money gaming platforms have had no inherent right to trade or profession at the cost of human lives, submitting that funds from such activities have been linked to money laundering, terror financing and rising addiction among young users.
The government has justified the enactment of the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act to curb the rapid spread of online money games, which it has said pose serious risks to individuals, families and the nation. It has noted that an estimated 45 crore people have been negatively affected and have collectively faced losses exceeding Rs 2,000 crore.
“There can be no right to profession or trade at the cost of human lives, which online money gaming is known to take, month after month, across the country,” the Centre has submitted.
The government has said that “systemic legal violations” linked to online money gaming platforms include large-scale tax evasion, money laundering, cross-border illicit fund flows and vulnerabilities related to terror financing and economic offences. Government data has shown a sharp rise in outward remittances in 2023–2024, with outflows exceeding Rs 5,700 crore.
