Overview

• A23 argues the law unlawfully criminalises skill-based games like rummy and poker, calling it a product of state paternalism and seeking to limit its application to games of chance.
• Junglee Rummy has also petitioned the Karnataka High Court, which has granted an urgent hearing for the challenges on August 30.
• Major platforms halted deposits and paid contests after the Act took effect, with Dream11’s CEO saying 95% of group revenues vanished overnight as firms like Dream11, MPL and Gameskraft opted not to litigate.
• The Act bans offering, advertising or financially facilitating money games, makes related offences cognisable and non-bailable, and sets penalties of up to three years in jail or Rs 1 crore, with separate fines for advertising and payments.
• Indian developers formed the IGPDA to back the law and court state support in Maharashtra, while key questions such as the treatment of lootboxes and virtual-item trading remain unresolved.