The Supreme Court on Tuesday (November 4, 2025) asked the Center to file a detailed reply on the petitions challenging the online gaming law. This law bans online money games and bans banking services and advertisements related to them.
A bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and KV Vishwanathan was informed that the Center has filed its reply to the interim request made in the petitions. The bench said, ‘We want the Additional Solicitor General to file a comprehensive reply on the main petition also filed by the Centre.’
The court said that the lawyers appearing for the petitioners should be given a copy of the reply in advance and if they want to file a reply, they can do so as soon as possible. The bench adjourned the hearing of the case to November 26.
Senior advocate CA Sundaram, appearing in this case, told the bench that online gaming has been completely closed for more than a month. During the hearing, a lawyer told the bench that a new writ petition has been filed in this case, but it has not been listed for hearing.
The lawyer said, ‘I (petitioner) am a chess player and this is my means of livelihood. I was also going to launch an app. Justice JB Pardiwala said, ‘India is a strange country. You are a player. You want to play. This is your only source of income and that is why you want to get involved in the proceedings.
The lawyer said that the petitioner participates in online tournaments organized by companies and he also pays participation fees. The bench said that his petition should also be attached with the pending petitions. The top court was hearing various transferred petitions challenging the online gaming law.
The bench said that a separate petition, which sought directions to the government to ban online gambling and betting platforms that allegedly operate under the guise of social and e-sports games, would also be heard on November 26.
The Supreme Court on Monday had sought response from the Center on the petition filed by ‘Centre for Accountability and Systemic Change’ (CASC) and Shaurya Tiwari. The petitioners argue that the Act imposes a complete ban on even judicially recognized skill-based games, which is a violation of Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to practice any profession or carry on lawful business. Karnataka High Court had recently issued notice on another related petition.