On December 11, 2025, the Supreme Court briefly debated whether Parliament was allowed to enact the new law banning real money online games. The law also bans related banking services and ads. The Chief Justice, senior lawyers for online gaming firms, and the Centre discussed if online gaming counts as betting and gambling. This matters because betting and gambling are controlled by state governments, not Parliament, under the Constitution. The Chief Justice said a three-judge Bench will hear the detailed case in January 2026 to decide if Parliament acted beyond its power with the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025. Senior lawyers C.A. Sundaram, Arvind Datar, and Rohini Musa told the court that a separate two-judge Bench headed by Justice J.B. Pardiwala is already reviewing challenges to this law and similar state-level rules. They urged for an early hearing and asked the Court to pause the law’s implementation, citing job losses and uncertainty among affected people. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, said the Court should look beyond just whether Parliament was competent. The government argued that real money gaming hurts human lives, fueling money laundering, terror funding, addiction, and deaths. They said 45 crore people suffer losses of over ₹2,000 crore from these games. The government linked online money gaming to tax evasion, money laundering, illegal cross-border funds, and terror finance risks. Recent data showed that outward remittances related to online gaming rose sharply past ₹5,700 crore in 2023-2024. The Centre insists there can be no right to trade if it harms lives, highlighting the dangers of online gaming across India.