US EditionKarnataka HC to Hear First Challenge Against India’s Online Money Gaming Ban
Head Digital Works contends the ban criminalizes skill-based games like rummy and poker, threatening closure of companies with 70 million users amid $3.6 billion industry projection.
- Head Digital Works, parent company of A23, has filed a petition in the Karnataka High Court challenging the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, becoming the first real-money operator to seek constitutional review.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government justified the ban as a social-responsibility measure to combat addiction and social evils, prompting platforms like Gameskraft to suspend real-money games on August 22.
- A23's court filing argued the law `criminalises the legitimate business of playing online games of skill`, called it a `product of state paternalism`, and warned it threatens its more than 70 million registered players and operators.
- Dream11 and MPL suspended real-money contests after the law took effect, with Harsh Jain, Dream Sports CEO, saying `95 percent of our group's revenues have disappeared overnight`; industry analysts warn the ban clouds a $3.6 billion projection for 2029.
- The judiciary could decide the legal fate of money-based skill gaming as the Karnataka High Court hears A23’s challenge to the ban on August 30, 2025.
15 Articles
15 Articles
Karnataka HC to hear first challenge against India’s online money gaming ban
The new law bans all forms of online money gaming, casting an existential question over the sector. Heads Digital Works says it infringes on its fundamental rights to trade, equality, and livelihood.
A23, an Indian gaming company, has taken the first bold step by presenting a legal challenge against the government’s ban on money-based online games. This challenge marks the premiere of a legal case against this new law that has shaken the gambling sector in India. According to the original report, this measure is part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government guidelines, promulgated last week. The gaming industry held that these games depe…
Online gaming law 2025 faces court battle: A23 fights blanket ban in Karnataka HC
India's online gaming industry faces its first major courtroom battle as A23 challenges the new law banning all money-based games in the Karnataka High Court. The case, listed for August 30, could set a precedent for the future of skill-based gaming platforms in India.
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