India’s Supreme Court has indicated that skill-based games and competitions could be exempt from India’s controversial Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 in comments that suggest a possible reprieve for online gaming operators across the country.
The court heard this week a plea from an online chess player who filed a petition challenging the Act, which was passed suddenly by parliament in August and quickly signed into law. The Act prohibits not only online casino gaming but also skill games such as fantasy sports, esports and poker. Under the bill, anyone offering real-money online games faces a jail term of up to three years plus a fine.
Justice K.V. Viswanathan commented upon hearing the plea that tournaments focused on skill rather than betting may be “completely excluded” from the law’s purview, according to local media reports. Another judge also commented that the government had no objection to games of skill, including those where an entry fee is paid and players compete for cash prizes.
The hearing brings together a raft of petitions that had been filed with the high courts of Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi, with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology having sought transfer of the pending cases due to concerns that the three courts could come to inconsistent findings, creating legal uncertainty.
The legal challenges argue that the ban on skill games violates Article 19(1)(g) which declares, “All citizens shall have the right to practise any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or business.”
Since Act was passed into law, dozens of companies – including global giants such as Flutter and local entities such as Dream Sports – have withdrawn from the Indian market.
The next hearing is scheduled for 26 November.
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