New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday transferred all petitions challenging the constitutionality of the new law banning online money gaming from multiple high courts to itself.

A bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K.V. Viswanathan allowed the Centre's plea to club the petitions, which had been filed before the high courts of Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, and Delhi.

The bench clarified that all proceedings pending before the high courts regarding challenges to the new law will now be heard only by the apex court, and the high courts will not entertain any petition related to this.

Both the Centre and the petitioners had requested the top court to club and transfer all related cases from the high courts. Now the Supreme Court will decide the constitutional validity of the gaming law.

Solicitor general Tushar Mehta told the court that the legal issues and precedents cited before the high courts had already been extensively argued before Justice Pardiwala's bench in the case on the 28% GST levy on online gaming, where the order has been reserved.

"This Act has been challenged before three high courts. If the cases are brought here, it would save time," Mehta had told the court.

Last week, the Madhya Pradesh high court rejected an appeal by Clubboom11 Sports & Entertainment Pvt. Ltd, a Gwalior-based gaming firm, seeking a stay on the government's notification of the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025.

The Act, passed in August, prohibits all online games involving monetary transactions. Similar petitions were also filed before the Karnataka and Delhi high courts, including one by Bagheera Carrom OPC Pvt. Ltd., but neither court granted interim relief.

Mehta told the courts that once the law is notified, the ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) will establish an authority to promote e-sports and casual games without monetary stakes, while enforcing restrictions on money-based games.

The legal tussle follows a rapid sequence of events in August, when the Union Cabinet cleared and passed the legislation within five days. IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw defended the move, citing years of research linking platforms such as Dream11, RummyCulture, My11Circle, and Mobile Premier League to gambling and money laundering.

The ban has already hit the industry. As Mint reported on 1 September, firms including Games24x7, MPL, and Baazi Games have begun layoffs, with more expected. Industry associations had earlier told Union home minister Amit Shah that the blanket ban could threaten over 200,000 jobs across more than 400 companies.

Despite industry pushback, the Centre has stood firm. On 23 August, MeitY secretary S. Krishnan told Mint that the government had "followed all constitutional requirements to frame the law and is ready for any legal challenges mounted against it."

This is not the first time the Supreme Court has consolidated disputes in the sector. In 2024, it transferred 27 writ petitions from nine high courts challenging the 28% GST on online real-money gaming to itself.