Centre Moves Supreme Court to Transfer Challenges to Online Gaming Act 2025 from High Courts

The Union of India has approached the Supreme Court, seeking the transfer of multiple writ petitions currently pending in various High Courts that challenge the recently enacted Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025.

The plea was mentioned on Friday before a bench comprising Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai and Justice K. Vinod Chandran. The Union's counsel requested that the matter be urgently listed for hearing on Monday, citing a scheduled interim hearing in the Karnataka High Court that could potentially impact the central legislation. "The new Act has been challenged. I am seeking a listing on Monday, because the interim order is listed in the Karnataka High Court," the Union’s counsel submitted. The bench acknowledged the urgency and agreed to list the transfer petition for an early hearing.

Background

The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, which was passed by Parliament on August 21 and received Presidential Assent on August 22, has quickly become a point of constitutional contention. The legislation aims to regulate the rapidly growing online gaming industry, but has sparked opposition for allegedly overreaching its scope.

Currently, the Act is under challenge before three High Courts:

• Delhi High Court

• Madhya Pradesh High Court

• Karnataka High Court (where an interim stay on the Act is being sought)

Grounds of Challenge

The principal challenge in all these writ petitions revolves around the alleged blanket prohibition imposed by the Act on online games, including those that involve skill-based gaming, such as e-sports. Petitioners argue that the law fails to distinguish between games of skill and games of chance, a distinction that has been judicially recognized in multiple Supreme Court rulings.

The petitioners assert that by including skill-based games under the regulatory and potentially prohibitive ambit of the Act, the legislation violates Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to practice any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or business.

Legal experts suggest that the Supreme Court’s decision on whether to consolidate the matters will have a significant bearing on the timeline and direction of the ongoing constitutional scrutiny of the Act.

The matter is expected to come up for hearing on Monday, September 9, where the Apex Court may issue notice to the parties involved and decide on the feasibility of transferring all related cases to itself for a unified adjudication.