The Karnataka High Court will hear on August 30 petition filed by leading online gaming company A23 challenging the newly-enacted law that bans all forms of online money gaming in India..The plea was mentioned for urgent hearing today by Senior Advocates C Aryama Sundaram and Dhyan Chinnappa. .The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, which seeks to outlaw online money games regardless of whether they are based on skill or chance, has now become law following President Droupadi Murmu’s assent on August 22. The Bill had been passed in the Lok Sabha on August 20 and in the Rajya Sabha on August 21.With this law, the long-standing judicial distinction between “games of skill” and “games of chance” has been discarded, with any game involving monetary stakes falling under the prohibition..Cognisable and non-bailable offences: Running online money games or processing related financial transactions will now be treated as serious offences, empowering police to arrest without warrant and conduct searches without prior approval.Strict penalties: Offenders may face up to three years in prison and fines of ₹1 crore, with repeat offenders liable to harsher punishment including mandatory minimum sentences and fines up to ₹2 crore. Ban on financial facilitation: Banks, payment providers and other intermediaries are barred from processing or authorising transactions related to prohibited games. National regulatory authority: A statutory authority will be established to register and classify games, issue directions and oversee compliance. Recognition of e-sports and social games: Competitive e-sports governed by sporting rules, along with social and educational games without monetary stakes, will be promoted and integrated into policy frameworks..The government has justified the sweeping ban by citing public health, financial security and national security risks. The Statement of Objects and Reasons points to:Manipulative and addictive design features used in money games;Cases of financial ruin, indebtedness and psychological harm, particularly among youth and economically weaker sections;Links of online gaming platforms to money laundering, tax evasion and even terrorism financing;The difficulty of enforcing state-level restrictions against offshore operators.Given these risks, the Centre has argued that “it is prudent and practical in the interest of the general public to completely prohibit the activity, rather than attempt regulation.”.Legal experts like Senior Advocate Abhishek Malhotra have contended that the law will have to face the scrutiny of the courts as Indian jurisprudence has historically drawn a distinction between games of skill and games of chance, with the former recognised as legitimate and protected activity. By removing this distinction, the new law raises questions under Article 14 of the Constitution, since it treats protected forms of creative and strategic expression at par with gambling.The Act also designates related offences as cognisable and non-bailable. Malhotra regards this approach as excessively harsh, noting that the government had until recently acknowledged skill gaming as legal and taxed it under a lower GST slab. The shift from regulating and taxing to outright criminalisation, in his view, represents an abrupt reversal of policy..The plea was filed by Advocates Pradeep Nayak and Sankeerth Vittal from Keystone Partners.
