Modi's gaming law faces first legal challenge, A23 online gaming company moves Karnataka HC – All you need to know
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Modi's gaming law faces first legal challenge, A23 online gaming company moves Karnataka HC – All you need to know")
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After the Gaming law was passed in the Parliament, multiple online gaming platforms, including Dream11, My11Circle, Nazara Technologies-backed PokerBaazi, WinZO, and Zupee, have paused their real-money online gaming activities.
An online gaming company in India, A23, has challenged the government's ban on online money-based games in the Karnataka High Court. This marks the first step by a gaming company in registering a case against a law that has thrown the future of the industry into doubt. The case is set to be heard on August 30, following the petition mentioned for urgent listing on Wednesday by Senior Advocates C Aryama Sundaram and Dhyan Chinnappa, according to a report in Business Today.
The real-money online gaming industry was jolted after the Parliament came up with the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, banning all sorts of online money games that used to promote e-sports and online social games. This law aims to crack down on the rise of addiction, money laundering and financial fraud through such portals.
After the Bill passed in the Parliament, several online gaming platforms, including Dream11, My11Circle, Nazara Technologies-backed PokerBaazi, WinZO, and Zupee, have paused their real-money online gaming offerings.
A23, which offers rummy and poker games, said in a court while filing at the Karnataka high court that the law “criminalises the legitimate business of playing online games of skill, which would result in the closure of various gaming companies overnight”, Reuters reported.
IT ministry is yet to respond
A23 added that the new law is the outcome of state paternalism and urged that it should be struck down as unconstitutional when applied to skill-based games such as rummy and poker. Meanwhile, the IT ministry has also not made any immediate comment on the queries of the news agency.
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With over 70 million registered players, A23.com, has positioned itself as a leading platform in the rapidly expanding online gaming market in India. And its petition may shape how courts weigh regulation against the industry’s constitutional legitimacy.
