SC to hear PIL seeking nationwide ban on online gambling masquerading as E-sports, social games

New Delhi | The Supreme Court agreed to hear on Friday a PIL filed by the Centre for Accountability and Systemic Change (CASC) seeking directions to the Centre to prohibit online gambling and betting platforms that allegedly operate under the guise of social and e-sports games.

A bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran took note of the submissions of lawyer Virag Gupta, appearing for the CASC, on Thursday and agreed to hear the PIL on October 17.

The plea has sought a direction to union ministries of Electronics and Information Technology, Information and Broadcasting, Finance and Youth Affairs and Sports “to do a harmonious interpretation of provisions of Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 and laws made by State Legislatures, to prohibit online gambling and betting games operating in the guise of social and e-sports games.”

The petition, filed on October 13 through advocates Virag Gupta and Rupali Panwar, names six respondents, including four union ministries and the two leading app store operators, Apple Inc. and Google India Pvt. Ltd.

The CASC, represented by former Uttar Pradesh DGP Vikram Singh, and Shourya Tiwari, have urged the top court to direct the government to clamp down on the proliferation of betting and gambling applications, which they claim are inflicting widespread social and economic harm across the country.

“Betting and gambling is regarded as an unlawful activity in the majority of the states in India. Several cases are contested in high courts wherein affidavits were filed by the government and gaming platforms. Upon analysing the same it is reported that more than 65 crore persons are playing such games creating annual business of more than Rs 1.8 lac crores for these platforms in India.

“Around half of the Indian population is involved in playing online games which is adversely impacting society, economy and national security. Devastating impact of online betting and gambling are endorsed in the objectives of newly passed the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025. As per the IT Minister's speech in Parliament, the Bill was introduced to ensure the welfare of society and to prevent the serious evil that is creeping into society,” the PIL said.

The plea said this unchecked expansion of online gaming has created what they describe as a “national crisis,” affecting “half of India's population” and leading to financial ruin, mental health issues, and even suicides. The plea has sought a nationwide prohibition on online gambling and betting platforms operating as esports or social games.

In one of the prayers, it has sought blocking orders under Section 69A of the IT Act against all unlawful betting sites and apps.

The plea has sought directions to the RBI, NPCI, and UPI platforms to disallow any monetary transactions involving unregistered gaming applications.

It has sought tax recovery and investigation into offshore gaming companies through Interpol, CBI, and ED, estimated to owe over Rs 2 lakh crore in unpaid taxes.

The PIL has also sought directions for protection of data of minors already collected by online gaming companies.

“Top cricketers and film stars are endorsing such unlawful games leading to cyber frauds, addiction, mental health disorder and suicides. As per Union IT Minister, ‘The fraud and cheating algorithms are such that it's impossible to tell who is playing with whom… algorithms are opaque algorithms…defeat is certain money laundering is taking place…',” the PIL said.