The Supreme Court on Tuesday (November 4, 2025) orally indicated that regular competitions and tournaments may be excluded from the ambit of the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 as they do not come under the definition of ‘betting and gambling’.

The 2025 law bans real money games, related banking services and advertisements.

What does the new online gaming Act outline? | Explained

A Bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K.V. Viswanathan was hearing a request made by a “chess player” who plays the game online as a “livelihood” and said he was about to launch an app.

“India is a strange country... you say you are a player, that you want to play, it is your only source of income and you want to join these proceedings here... Are you betting or gambling? How do you raise

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