India Supreme Court rejects review petitions over Tamil Nadu and Karnataka gaming bans

The Supreme Court of India has dismissed review petitions filed by Junglee Games and several other online gaming operators that sought to overturn state-level prohibitions on real-money, skill-based games in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The determination concludes the latest judicial challenge mounted by the sector against statutory bans targeting online games played for financial stakes across both jurisdictions.

Extended legal challenges across two states

The origin of the litigation dates back to 2021, when both Tamil Nadu and Karnataka enacted amendments to their regional gaming laws to clamp down on online betting and gambling. In their legal challenges, Junglee Games and fellow operators contended that games governed primarily by skill, such as rummy, ought to be legally distinguished from pure games of chance and therefore should not be subjected to blanket state prohibitions.

The industry initially gained ground in lower judicial venues. In August 2021, the Madras High Court ruled in favour of the operators by striking down Tamil Nadu's legislative amendments. That decision prompted the Tamil Nadu government to lodge an appeal with the Supreme Court in December 2021. Months later, in February 2022, the Karnataka High Court similarly struck down provisions of Karnataka’s amended gaming legislation, leading the Karnataka state administration to escalate the case to the Supreme Court in May 2022.

High Court decisions overturned

The Supreme Court resolved the consolidated matters in May 2026, delivering a comprehensive defeat to the operators. The highest court overturned both the Madras and Karnataka High Court rulings, officially reinstating and upholding the validity of the state laws. The apex court's ruling took place alongside substantial federal legislative restructuring; India had enacted the Promotion and Regional of Online Gaming Act in August 2025, which subsequently came into force on 1 May 2026.

Unwilling to accept the outcome, Junglee Games and other gaming operators lodged review petitions in an attempt to revisit and reverse the May 2026 ruling. Those petitions have now been dismissed by the Supreme Court in an order dated 15 October, with the decision officially made public on 26 October.

Operator impact and corporate presence

Founded in 2012 by Ankush Gera, San Francisco-based studio Junglee Games established a major footprint in the Indian gaming market, amassing a player base that reached a peak of 120 million users. In 2021, FTSE-listed gaming giant Flutter Entertainment acquired an initial 51% majority interest in the business. However, Flutter subsequently pulled the Junglee Games brand out of India completely as a consequence of the federal ban.

Despite withdrawing its local gaming brand, Flutter continues to maintain a significant operational base within the country. The group operates a Global Capability Centre located in Hyderabad that employs over 1,000 people. Rather than servicing the domestic market, this centre provides technical, financial, and data infrastructure support for Flutter’s international portfolio of betting and gaming operators, including FanDuel, PokerStars, Betfair, and Sky Betting & Gaming.