Arguing in the Karnataka High Court, an online Rummi platform has become the first company to ban India’s new law, the law “arbitrary and unconstitutional”.
Head Digital Works, which operates the A23 Rummi, filed a petition on Thursday, demanding attacking the major provisions of promotion and regulation of the online gaming act, 2025. The matter will be heard by Justice B Shyama Prasad on Saturday.
The petition argues that the blanket ban reverse the government’s earlier policy which allowed skill-based sports and behaved them differently with the chance of chance. It claims that the Act was enacted without consultation and has created significant economic disruption.
“The Act was enacted without consultation, reversing the government’s policy to support the online skills gaming sector. This led to a large -scale economic disruption, threatening the livelihood of more than two lakh people and exited. 23,440 crore investment, ”the petition stated.
The company argues that skill games like Rummi and Poker are valid business activities protected under Article 19 (1) (G) of the Constitution and should not be classified as gambling. It claims that the law violates constitutional rights including equality under Article 14 and the right to practice any profession.
The petition cites the previous verdict by the Madras and Kerala High Courts and the Supreme Court, which recognized the game of skills as a legitimate business activities separate from gambling.
The challenge is a challenge after completing its parliamentary route in a record in three days. The law faced criticism for its early route without adequate parliamentary debate.
The law divides the online game into three categories-E-Sports, Social Gaming and Real-Mani Games. As long as it encourages e-sport and social gaming, it completely banns real-mani games and their advertising, punishing imprisonment and fines for up to three years. 1 crore for convenience.
The government upheld the ban, citing concerns on the links of drug addiction, financial loss and illegal activities. IT minister Ashwini Vaishnav told Parliament that 450 million players have lost 20,000 crores for such games.
A23 Rummi’s original company claims that the ban has abolished over 600 jobs within the firm alone and affects the livelihood of thousands of people in the entire industry.
Economic effects are already visible. This week, the Control Board ends it for cricket in India The 358 crore jersey sponsorship deal with fantasy sports platform Dream 11, which announced that it would shut down real-mani gaming operations after the law is passed.
The petition particularly “challenges the definition of the Act of the Act as an online game, which is played by the user to pay in the hope of winning, despite the skill or opportunity element.” This definition effectively eliminates traditional legal differences between skills and chance games.
The government says that empirical data shows that Indians almost lose 15,000 crores annually for real-mani games, justifying the comprehensive restriction required to protect citizens from financial exploitation and addiction.
The Act also targets offshore platforms serving Indian users, empowering authorities to block illegal websites under the Information Technology Act. Officials said the problem is particularly clear in small cities where online money gaming has become a serious social issue.
