The Supreme Court on Monday transferred to itself a batch of petitions pending in high courts challenging the Gaming Act, which seeks to either ban some forms of online gaming or regulate others to prevent gullible people from falling prey to such entertainment.

A bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K.V. Viswanathan passed the order while allowing an application moved by the Union government seeking transfer of petitions pending in high courts to the Supreme Court for an authoritative pronouncement and to avoid multiple proceedings on the same issue. Solicitor-general Tushar Mehta represented the Centre.

“This transfer petition is at the instance of the Union of India with the following prayers... The transfer as prayed for is allowed. The proceedings from Karnataka HC, Delhi HC and MP HC stand transferred to this court. The respective high courts are requested to transfer the entire record within a period of one week from today. Let this transfer be done digitally to save time. The transfer petition is accordingly disposed of,” the bench said.

It added: “If there are any other matters filed fresh, they can also be transferred. We make it clear that if there is any challenge to the validity of the Act before any other high court, the same shall not be entertained and the entire matter shall stand transferred to this court.”

According to the Centre, the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, has been enacted to promote and strategically regulate the online gaming sector, while safeguarding citizens from the adverse effects of online money games, and simultaneously encouraging and regulating other forms of online gaming.

The transfer petition has been filed through the secretary of the ministry of electronics and information technology under Article 139A (1) of the Constitution read with Order XL Rule 1 of the Supreme Court Rules, 2013, seeking transfer of various writ petitions pending before the high courts challenging the vires of the legislation.

The legislation prohibits offering or aiding online money games and related services, which involve a user paying money or other stakes in expectation of receiving monetary or other enrichment. This is true regardless of whether the game is based on skill, chance, or a combination of both.

It also prohibits advertising and facilitating financial transactions for such games and empowers the central government to block any information related to online money gaming services from public access.

The Act, which received the presidential assent, empowers the Centre to take steps for the recognition and development of e-sports and online social games.

According to the Act the following are classfied as e-sports: (i) those that are played as part of multi-sports events, (ii) are recognised under the National Sports Governance Act, 2025, (iii) have their outcome determined solely by factors such as physical dexterity, mental agility, strategic thinking, or similar skills, and (iv) involve organised competitive events conducted in the multiplayer format and governed by pre-defined rules.