SC Directs Centre To Reply On Pleas Challenging RMG Ban

The Supreme Court (SC) yesterday reportedly directed the Centre to furnish a “comprehensive” reply on a clutch of petitions challenging the new online gaming rules, which impose a blanket ban on online real money gaming (RMG) in the country.

As per Economic Times, the directions came after the Union government informed the SC that it has already filed its reply on the interim prayer made in the pleas. However, a bench comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and KV Viswanathan told the Centre, “We want the Additional Solicitor General appearing for the Union to file a comprehensive reply to the main petition itself”.

The SC posted the matter for next hearing on November 26.

Appearing for gaming giant Head Digital Works, senior advocate CA Sundaram reportedly argued that the online gaming ecosystem had been “shut” for over a month now as the law was yet to be notified. 

The SC was hearing a clutch of pleas transferred from various High Courts (HCs) across the country, including Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi. 

This comes a few months after the Union Cabinet gave its assent to the then Bill in August and was passed by both the Parliament houses within the next couple of days. The new mandates include complete prohibition of online RMG and a ban on advertising of such platforms. 

The new norms also prohibit financial institutions from facilitating transactions for such platforms and propose penalties for violations, which include imprisonment of up to three years and/or a fine of up to INR 3 Cr.

The new legislation marked the end of India’s RMG ecosystem, which raised more than $3 Bn in funding over the last decade and employed 2 Lakh people. 

Thereafter, a slew of petitions were filed by gaming companies in HCs across the country, arguing that the new norms violated Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to practice any profession or carry on lawful trade. 

Subsequently, the IT ministry (MeitY) filed a petition to transfer the three pending cases from the high courts to the SC to “avoid any divergence of opinions or multiplicity of proceedings”. In September, the top Court had transferred these petitions to itself against the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025.

That said, the RMG ecosystem continues to reel under the impact of the new legislation. Some of the biggest players in the space have laid off employees in droves and pivoted to new business models to survive the regulatory blow.

Dream11, the largest player in the space, has entered the investment tech segment with the launch of Dream Money, while others such as WinZO and Zupee are shifting towards short-form video content.