The Delhi High Court on Tuesday directed the central government to constitute a regulatory authority and notify rules for the effective implementation of the newly-enacted Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025.
A division bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela was hearing a plea challenging the validity of the legislation when it observed that without rules and an implementing authority, the Act could not function in practice.
“Until you constitute the authority and promulgate the rules, you will not be able to work on the Act,” the bench remarked, posting the matter for further hearing after eight weeks.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Union government, informed the court that the Centre was in the process of both setting up the authority and framing the necessary rules. He added that while the government sought to promote e-sports and safe online social and educational games, online money games posed grave risks of addiction and even suicides among children.
The Act, passed by Parliament on August 21, 2025, bars all forms of online real-money games while promoting e-sports and ensuring a safe digital ecosystem for educational and social online games. However, the law awaits operationalisation through subordinate legislation and a regulatory authority.
The petition was filed by Bagheera Carrom (OPC) Private Limited, an online carrom platform, which alleged that the law was introduced in undue haste without proper consultation with industry stakeholders. The company claimed the law violates fundamental rights by indiscriminately banning all forms of online real-money games, regardless of whether they are based on chance or skill.
The High Court will take up the matter again in November after reviewing the Centre’s progress on rule-making and authority constitution.
