A23, which is among the biggest online gaming firms in India, has already petitioned the central government in the High Court of Karnataka to have the new ban on online money-based games lifted. This is the initial legal action in opposition to the new law, Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, that banned all varieties of real-money online games and legalized e-sports and free-to-play social games. Introduced by Parliament earlier this year and passed by President Droupadi Murmu, the law was meant to deal with the increasing worries regarding addiction, money launderer, and financial fraud by online gaming services.
The new Act has already compelled a number of popular platforms such as Dream11, My11Circle, WinZO, Zupee and PokerBaazi (supported by Nazara Technologies), to halt their real-money gaming contests. Online rummy and poker player A23 claims in its court filing that the law criminalizes the legal business of online skill gaming and that it may result in dozens of businesses in the industry being closed overnight. The company also characterized the law as a state-paternalism product and has asked the court to rule it unconstitutional as applied to games of skill like poker and rummy.
The Information Technology Ministry has yet to respond to the questions about the petition. A23.com boasts over 70 million users around the country, and this fact demonstrates the magnitude of disruption the ban will bring.
Other gaming companies, in the meantime, have failed to resort to litigation. Dream11, Mobile Premier League (MPL) and Gameskraft are industry leaders who have publicly announced their willingness to abide by the law. Gameskraft released a statement that it appreciates the legislative process and would only act within the laws and within the legal context.
The result of the A23 challenge may have significant ramifications on the India online gaming market, which has experienced a dramatic growth over the past few years, but does not have a clear regulatory future.
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