Real-money gaming firms plan court challenge against ban: Report

Several real-money gaming (RMG) companies in India are preparing to file writ petitions in two to three high courts as early as this week to challenge a new online gaming law, Moneycontrol reported on Monday, citing people aware of the matter.

The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, which received presidential assent on Friday after being cleared by parliament, bans money-based online games, prohibits related advertising, and bars banks from processing payments for such platforms.

A new regulator will be set up to oversee compliance and classify permissible games, including e-sports and educational or social games.

India’s online gaming industry went into a tailspin last week, with leading platforms including Mobile Premier League (MPL), Zupee, Gameskraft and Probo suspending their real-money gaming (RMG) offerings.

Online fantasy game My11Circle, owned and operated by Play Games24x7 Pvt Ltd, in a social media post, said it is suspending all gaming services that involve real money.

Popular fantasy sports platform Dream11, which has had brand endorsers like Indian cricketers MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma, and Bollywood actor Kartik Aryan, also shut its shop.

Nazara Technologies, in a regulatory filing, said Moonshine Technologies Private Ltd, the parent company that owns and operates the online poker platform PokerBaazi, has halted its real-money gaming offerings in the wake of the legislation.

According to the Moneycontrol report, Gameskraft and Head Digital Works were among the firms considering legal action, though industry bodies such as the E-Gaming Federation and All India Gaming Federation are unlikely to be petitioners.

The legal challenges are expected to target Chapter III of the law, which contains provisions prohibiting “online money gaming services,” Moneycontrol said.

Companies are likely to argue that the measure violates constitutional protections, including the right to conduct business under Article 19(1)(g), and may also claim arbitrary classification under Article 14.

Dream Sports co-founder Harsh Jain, in an interview with Moneycontrol, clarified that the parent company does not plan to challenge the constitutional validity of the new gaming law.

"I think the government has made it clear that they don't want this right now. I don't want to live in the past. We want to focus entirely on the future and not fight with the government on something that they don't want," Jain said.

Industry experts warned the ban could result in widespread job losses, reduced foreign investment, and tax revenue shortfalls. The sector estimates the prohibition could wipe out 200,000 jobs, ₹25,000 crore in foreign direct investment and ₹20,000 in tax revenues.