The Supreme Court on November 6 deferred the hearing in a group of petitions challenging the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, which criminalises “online money games” and restricts banking, advertising, and payment facilitation for such platforms. The Court has directed the Union Government to file a detailed affidavit before the next hearing.

A bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice KV Viswanathan was informed by Senior Advocate C.A. Sundaram that the petitioners believed the Centre had already filed its response. He stressed that several gaming platforms have remained shut for over a month, causing severe hardship, and urged the Court to take up the matter urgently. However, noting that no comprehensive reply had yet been filed, the bench asked Additional Solicitor General N. Venkataraman to submit one.

During the proceedings, counsel for a professional chess player mentioned that his separate petition had not been listed. He argued that the ban affects players who earn their livelihood by participating in online chess tournaments hosted by gaming platforms. “This is my only source of income. I was also in the process of launching an app,” he submitted.

Justice Pardiwala queried whether such participation amounts to betting or gambling. The counsel clarified that the player pays an entry fee and competes for prize money. The ASG responded that the tournaments in question were not regular sports tournaments but gaming-based competitions involving monetary stakes. Justice Pardiwala then remarked that tournaments linked to monetary prizes through gaming platforms would fall within the prohibited category. The Court agreed to tag the chess player’s petition with the ongoing batch.

Another petition before the bench sought safeguards for minors’ data collected by gaming companies and asked the Court to reconcile the Online Gaming Act with state gambling laws. The petitioner, the Centre for Accountability Systemic Changes, has also sought directives for blocking illegal betting platforms and orders instructing RBI, NPCI, and UPI service providers not to process payments for unregistered online gaming entities.

The matter is scheduled to be heard again on November 26.

Case: Union of India v. Head Digital Works Pvt. Ltd. & Anr., T.P.(C) Nos. 2484–2486/2025