The Supreme Court of India has sought the Union government's response to a petition urging a nationwide ban on online gambling and betting platforms allegedly operating under the pretext of social and esports gaming.
As reported by Live Law, a bench comprising Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice KV Viswanathan issued a notice to the government after hearing a plea filed by an NGO advocating for greater regulatory enforcement. The petition claims that more than 2,000 mobile applications currently facilitate gambling-related activities disguised as online games.
The bench ordered the matter to be tagged with ongoing petitions challenging the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, which is yet to come into force. The plea argues that the Act should be harmonised with state laws to ensure that platforms offering online betting or gambling under alternative labels are explicitly prohibited.
The NGO's petition also calls for the government to invoke Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, to block unlawful gambling websites and applications.
It further seeks directives for the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and other UPI service providers to restrict financial transactions with unregistered or offshore gaming platforms.
Representing the Union of India, Advocate VC Bharathi informed the court that most of the relief sought is already covered by the new Online Gaming Act. The Supreme Court has tagged the case with related petitions challenging the Act's constitutional validity, including claims that it imposes a blanket prohibition on skill-based esports and thereby infringes Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution.
The plea urges authorities to implement stringent provisions similar to the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Gaming Act, 2022 and to consider the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, 1999 as a model for enforcement
